Joe Vacek

Joe Vacek is a tenured associate professor at UND Aerospace. He teaches aviation and space law, transportation, environmental policy, and aviation technical classes at the undergraduate, honors, and graduate levels. Vacek’s primary research area is the law of remote sensing, both international and domestic U.S. law; specifically, Fourth Amendment search and seizure, privacy, and civil issues related to manned and unmanned aircraft systems and space-based systems. He holds commercial pilot and certified flight instructor certificates and is is a practicing lawyer and mediator as well as a former Peace Corps volunteer. He is the faculty advisor for the UND competition aerobatic team, whose precision flying has earned the team first place at the national collegiate level for 6 consecutive years. Outside of academia, Vacek is an avid endurance athlete, having recently completed an IRONMAN triathlon, swum a marathon, and ridden his bicycle across the United States. He commutes by bicycle year round in his hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota, using special studded snow tires in the winter.