How this ‘Curious George’ landed at Ohio State
Today, George Valcarel ’20, the youngest member of the alumni board of directors, is helping to drive the future of drones. Tomorrow, the sky is the limit.
What does the future of aerospace look like? How can technology make the airspace system safer? George Valcarcel ’20 is propelled by these questions.
Though drone technology is his current focus, Valcarcel knows his interests might evolve. Freedom to explore new ideas is vital for him. Growing up, his teachers nicknamed him “Curious George,” and it stuck.
“You need to be a continuous learner, able to pivot and keep ahead of the curve as the required skills change,” Valcarcel says. “I appreciate that Ohio State has prepared me to take on a wide variety of challenges.”
As an engineering student, Valcarcel accepted a GE Aerospace internship. He discovered his passion wasn’t in the design itself but in driving the business forward. Interacting with clients and tackling strategic and operational challenges in his next role as a consultant at McKinsey & Company proved to be a great fit. Now at AURA Network Systems, Valcarcel supports technologies enabling uncrewed aircraft to safely integrate into national airspace, expanding possibilities for commercial and humanitarian use.
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What sparked your curiosity?
I’m a liberal arts student at heart, interested in history and geography, with strong ties to my heritage and religious culture. My mom’s family is from Greece, and my dad’s is from Spain. When I was little, my grandfather showed us where he was born in Greece and fled from the Nazi invasion. The Greek Orthodox Church remains foundational in my life. In 2023, I joined a young adult pilgrimage to Turkey, where we met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, spiritual leader to 300 million Orthodox Christians.
Raised in Ohio, I came to aviation early. My dad took me to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton Air Show. On vacations, I would pretend to pilot the plane. My keen interest in flight, paired with emerging topics like sustainability and autonomy, ultimately led me to advanced air mobility and unmanned aircraft systems.
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Why Ohio State?
I was considering acceptances from Harvard and Cornell, but I was hooked after finding Ohio State’s Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program. I like looking at problems from different perspectives and was drawn to the intersection of these disciplines. They gave us real clients and real-world problems with many angles to look at them. Being surrounded by smart and driven IBE students pushed me to grow every day.
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Can you share a big moment from your student experience?
My third year, I worked in Washington, D.C., for a small consulting group, Ascension Global. I learned about public policy frameworks, regulations and business models for the future of drones. When I returned to campus, I collaborated with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and John Glenn College of Public Affairs to convene the first Ohio Air Mobility Symposium in 2020. The relationships developed in organizing this industry forum set my career in a direction to make a difference.
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What’s exciting about your role at AURA?
I met my current manager and mentor, Lisa Peterson, at the symposium, where she spoke on a panel about digital infrastructure and connectivity for drones. At AURA, we’re developing next-generation communications tools that help uncrewed aircraft operate safely and reliably. Drones play a crucial role in inspecting critical infrastructure like pipelines, airports and military bases, as well as in transporting lifesaving medical supplies between hospitals.
Enhancing visibility and resilience across the airspace is key to scaling drone operations. These systems support public safety in increasingly complex skies and advance national security priorities. I’m energized to help shape this future—and motivated to spend the next phase of my career addressing these challenges head-on.
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Tell us how you’re paying forward.
The Air Mobility Symposium has continued under student leadership, and I’ve been mentoring them and keeping stakeholders involved. Some of the students I’ve worked with now hold exciting roles in the industry.
I’m passionate about my volunteer work as president of the Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program alumni council, which I launched upon graduation, alongside Alisa Noll ’17. She mentored me early on, showing me how to take advantage of campus opportunities and find things that made me tick. At McKinsey, a senior partner, Tom Kolaja ’90, saw my enthusiasm for Ohio State and encouraged me to join the alumni association board—I’m proud to be its youngest member, advocating for many fellow young alumni.
I’ve always tried to be intentional about building strong relationships and paying attention to details that matter to people. It’s probably my superpower—but also what Ohio State is all about, the power of our network.
