SCS Distinguished Lecture: Hank Suz-Chi Wan Memorial Lecture - Blake Scholl
March 19, 2026 5:00PM—6:30PM
Location:
In Person
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Rashid Auditorium, Gates Hillman 4401
Speaker:
BLAKE SCHOLL,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Boom Supersonic
https://boomsupersonic.com/team-members/blake-scholl
Blake Scholl (SCS'01) always loved airplanes and hated that they weren't getting any faster. After a stint as a software engineer at early Amazon and a few software startups, Blake founded Boom in 2014 with the goal of bringing back supersonic passenger travel and making it mainstream. Last year, Boom made history by flying its XB-1 aircraft faster than the speed of sound without an audible sonic boom—paving the way for a mainstream renaissance in supersonic travel.
In this talk, Blake will talk about his experience going from software to hardware—and how a software mindset unlocks a renaissance in supersonic passenger flight.
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Blake Scholl founded Boom Supersonic in 2014 with the goal of making high-speed travel mainstream and enabling a new world of human connection. Blake is passionate about tackling big problems which the world has overlooked. After seeing Concorde in a museum, he became captivated by the question: why had supersonic travel disappeared—and how could it return? Driven by curiosity and conviction, Blake dove into aerospace engineering from first principles, ultimately assembling a team that would bring the vision for Boom to life. As Boom’s founder and CEO, Blake focuses on uniting top talent across disciplines to solve one of the most complex engineering challenges of our time. He is passionate about tackling overlooked problems with global impact—and building the teams capable of solving them.
Prior to founding Boom, Blake held leadership roles at Amazon and Groupon. He started his career at Amazon as a software engineer, where he developed software for personalized and automated merchandising, and by age 24, was responsible for initiatives that generated $300 million in revenue. Blake pioneered the automation of digital ad buying, enabling advertisers to build their own “long tail” by promoting niche products to relevant customers. Later, Blake was the first employee and director of product development at Kleiner-backed mobile startup Pelago. In 2010, he co-founded mobile technology startup Kima Labs, which was acquired by Groupon in 2012. Blake held l multiple leadership positions under Groupon’s ownership before leaving to start Boom.
Blake’s love of aviation started early—he grew up in suburban Cincinnati, where his parents took him to the airport to watch Cessnas take off and land. He began flying in college and holds a private pilot’s license with an instrument rating. He earned a BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, lives in Denver and continues to enjoy flying in his free time with his four children.
For More Information:
scs-dls@cs.cmu.edu