General Manager, Garmin AT Inc.
Alan Blood grew up in the heart of Beaver Nation, in the town of Albany, Oregon. While studying at Oregon State, he worked with the Associated Students of Oregon State University organization as a web designer.
Blood believes that the leadership of the College of Engineering puts students first, and that there is a concerted focus on integrating engineering disciplines across schools so students graduate with real-world integrative engineering knowledge and experience.
After graduating, Blood joined Garmin AT Inc. in Salem as an aviation embedded software engineer. With Garmin, he was given the opportunity to earn his private pilot license and instrument rating in 2007 and now holds a commercial pilot license. After serving in many roles in software and systems engineering, Blood moved into his current role as general manager in January 2021.
The company designs and manufactures avionics equipment for both retrofit and forward-fit/OEM aviation markets, and houses a customer contact center supporting products in outdoor and marine consumer product lines. With over 500 employees in Salem, Garmin AT is one of the larger private employers in the mid-Willamette valley.
Blood is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council, the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science’s industry advisory board, and the board of directors for the Strategic Economic Development Corporation, which is focused on enhancing economic development in the mid-Willamette Valley.
Blood is most proud of his work on a product that Garmin calls the Flight Stream 510. It’s one of the company’s smallest products, but contains some of the most advanced engineering Garmin has produced. The idea was born out of the desire to add wireless connectivity to Garmin’s existing aviation display products, and Blood says he was honored to be one of the named inventors. He feels that there is a bright future in engineering as it relates to advanced air mobility – almost every aspect of the system will require innovative engineering solutions.
“Never be afraid to take on the most difficult challenges – head on. The most rewarding experiences come from successful completion of something that was seemingly impossible, that had never been done before.”
Degrees
- B.S. Computer Engineering, 2004
- B.S. Electrical & Electronics Engineering, 2005