Chris Edwards, Associate Professor at Rend Lake College, the primary instructor for this class, holds an AAS degree in Information Technology from Rend Lake College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and a Master’s Degree in Cybersecurity from Liberty University. He is a licensed as a Remote Pilot by the FAA. Chris teaches in the Information Technology Division at Rend Lake, with an emphasis on Cybersecurity and Computer Forensics. He has developed the sUAS curriculum for the college. Chris has taught a related series of courses for over three3 years and has added several other courses to the curriculum.

Luke Poore is a Detective in his 12th year with the Jacksonville Police Department in Jacksonville Illinois. During his tenure there he has been a member of the Special Response Team, serving as a Marksman/Observer as well as a Hostage Negotiator. Prior to his time with the Jacksonville PD, Luke worked for the United States Border Patrol as well as for the Illinois Department of Corrections. Luke earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Illinois College in Jacksonville Illinois, and approximately 5 years ago began the process of starting a Drone Program within the Jacksonville Police Department.

Along with his full-time employment with the Jacksonville PD, Luke is currently employed with Unmanned Vehicle Technologies (UVT), serving as a Field Applications Specialist. As part of his employment with UVT, Luke often travels to local agencies to provide hands on training as well as live demonstrations of UAV related products, from brands such as DJI, Autel, Brinc, Skydio, Parrot and others.