Record Number Attends 2016 Embry-Riddle A³iRCon

More than 350 academic and industry leaders from around the world shared research and insight on today’s hottest topics in aviation, aerospace, cybersecurity, unmanned vehicles and more Jan. 14-17  in Phoenix, Ariz., as part of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s 2016 Aviation, Aeronautics and Aerospace International Research (A³iR) Conference.

Representatives and organizers including faculty, staff and students from Embry-Riddle’s Prescott and Worldwide campuses led three days of presentations, panels and discussions that delved into everything from the future of business aviation to unmanned systems regulation and cybersecurity in the national airspace.

Among the most popular events was a three-session symposium presented by the Prescott Campus’ Global Security and Intelligence Studies program exploring UAS Today, UAS Tomorrow and UAS Collaboration & Research Opportunities.

Other topics discussed and research presented during the conference included Commercial Space Emergence, UAS/“Drone” Certification and New FAA Registration Requirements, Current State of Airlines – Airline Management and Operations, Future of Business and Corporate Aviation, Decline of Passenger Satisfaction, Emergency Response, Human Factors/Aviation Psychology, Virtual Reality/Simulation and Evolutions in Aircraft Maintenance.

The annual event, now in its third year, featured numerous Embry-Riddle graduates serving as panel chairs and presenters and highlighted undergraduate student research projects with 28 submissions. Winners of this year’s live and virtual posters competition were:

             Awardees from Live Session

• 1st place: “Engineering of Weather Balloon,” Sergei Bilardi, William Griffin, Erik Parker and Kari Slotten; Mentor: John Hughes, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
• 2nd Place: “Changes in Performance Parameters of Solid Rocket Motors as They Increase in Size,” Julia Levitt, Richard Reksoatmodjo, Rebecca Tobin, Raeann VanSickle, Bryce Smoldon, Christopher Sample, Tyler Gulden, and Laura Pelletier; Mentor: Brenda Haven, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz. 
• 3rd Place: “Investigation of Contra-Rotating Propulsion on Human-Powered Aircraft," Mark Van Bergen, Kevin Horn, Michael Chastain, Ryan Burns, and Chris Jacobs; Mentor: Gary Yale, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz.

             Awardees from Virtual Session

• 1st Place: “American Aviation Consumers’ Willingness to Fly While the Pilot Monitoring Performs Non-Flight Activities During Cruise Flight,” Brian Warsaw; Mentor: Scott R. Winter, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Fla.
  

• 2nd Place: “American Public Opinion on Willingness to Fly with the Presence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the National Airspace,” Ibou Seck and Gajapriya Tamilselvan; Mentor: Scott R. Winter, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Fla.
  

            Awardees from Graduate Poster Session

• 1st Place: “Analysis of Causal Human Factors of In-Flight Loss of Control for Commercial Fixed-Wing Aircraft,” Seline Ng'eno, Florida Institute of Technology.
• 2nd Place: "The Effects Advertising Has on Passenger Opinions Towards Advancements in Aviation Technology,” Kasey Friedenreich, Jacob Mickevicius, Rian Mehta, Morgan Eudy, and Stephen Rice, Florida Institute of Technology.
• 3rd Place: “Opinions Aviation Consumers Have on Problematic Airport Security Situations,” Jacob Mickevicius, Kasey Friedenreich, Rian Mehta, Adam Hruszczyk, and Stephen Rice, Florida Institute of Technology.
  

Check out photos from the event on Facebook.

To kick off the event, members of the Prescott Campus’ Industry Advisory Board met Jan. 14 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Chandler, Ariz., where the conference was held. The keynote speaker was Ryan Hartman ('09, WW), president and CEO of Insitu, a pioneer in the design, development and manufacturing of high-performance, low-cost unmanned aircraft systems used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in military and commercial applications. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, Hartman is also a graduate of Embry-Riddle.

Other special guests at this year’s conference were Sy Liebergot, a longtime NASA flight controller on Apollo 8-15 and author of Apollo EECOM – Journey of a Lifetime; Mary Niemczyk, associate professor and chair of the aviation programs at Arizona State University; last year’s keynote speaker, the Honorable Robert Sumwalt ('14, WW) of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); Nancy Graham, former director of ICAO’s Air Navigation Bureau; James Malecha of the Federal Aviation Administration; and Suzanne Kearns, president of the University Aviation Association and associate professor at Western University. Sumwalt also chaired a panel session during the conference that included discussion on noncompliance of checklist use by pilots resulting in a crash.

“The collective expertise, knowledge and insight that A³iR brings to the table each year reflects the commitment that we have as an institute of higher learning to support and improve the industries for which we are educating future leaders,” said event organizer Brent Bowen, dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus. “With each year that we host this, we are seeing industry and academia working together to better understand, better innovate and better collaborate.”