Nathan Luce
Manager of Engineering & Construction
Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority
Age: 37
- Alma Mater: Christian Brothers University (BS Civil Engineering) / North Carolina State University (Master of Civil Engineering)
- Favorite Aircraft: B747 civilian / B1 military
- Favorite TV Show: Psych
- Favorite Movie: Star Wars (but I can’t pick just one episode)
- Favorite Hobbies: doing just about anything with my wife and three kids
After dramatically transitioning from a hub for Delta Airlines in 2013 to a growing origin & destination market, Memphis International Airport is reinventing itself and Nathan Luce, as manager of engineering and construction, is leading the charge. He is currently overseeing four large capital projects with a total budget of nearly half a billion dollars — a consolidated rental car maintenance facility, an airfield operations, maintenance and support facility, a new consolidated deicing facility and a $214 million Concourse B Modernization Project.
“I love seeing projects move from abstract to physical. There’s something really wonderful about the privilege of being involved in a project from conception, when it is just an idea or a thought, all the way through to completion,” said Luce.
Luce noted that his father, now retired, was a career pilot. “So I’ve always had aircraft in my blood. A mentor where I used to work, John Pankey, gave me my first opportunity to work on the engineering side of an airport project,” he said. “And my former supervisor at Memphis International, Joe Polk, also retired, encouraged me every day to be better. I’m trying hard to fill his shoes in the role he once occupied.”
As Luce progresses in his career, he’d like to see changes in how the FAA regulates the industry. “I want to see a project environment wherein the FAA’s regulatory oversight is easier to navigate with fewer restrictions,” he said. “We are operating in a need-it-now environment and the current processes can make it very difficult to quickly meet the highly evolving needs of the different users at an airport.”
Why does Luce like being in the aviation industry? “First, it’s the aircraft. I know it’s just a matter of aerodynamic science, but every time I see a 700,000-pound Boeing 777 lift off, there’s something magic about it,” he said. “I also enjoy the airport environment – it’s a place where people start adventures, a place where people are reconnected after being apart. For me, there’s an emotional component of the airport visitor’s experience and I love participating in that experience.”
