Category: university design competition

• A team of graduate students from the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute and Technology won first place for its proposal titled FlyKey. The students proposed a design that focuses on the implementation of technology to make the experience for the traveler convenient and safe. Faculty adviser: Deborah Carstens.

• A team of undergraduate and graduate students from San Jose State University’s Aviation and Technology Department won first place for its proposal titled Conceptual Design of Vertiport and UAM Corridor. The team proposed a schematic design of a vertiport with a surface footprint of 340 ft² to increase consumer benefits by increasing accessibility and operational efficiency of the vertiport. Faculty adviser: Wenbin Wei.

• A team of undergraduate students from Michigan Technological University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department captured first place for its proposal titled Graphical NOTAM Interface for Improving Efficiency of Reporting NOTAM Information. The team developed an Electronic Flight Bag user interface that provides a graphical representation of a notice to airmen (NOTAM) and weather information to improve how pilots receive condition changes at airports. Faculty adviser: Audra Morse.

• An undergraduate team from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley, tied for first place for its proposal titled High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Traffic Management Concept on Airfields: Increasing Airport Capacity and Reducing Passenger Delay. The design proposal offered outside-of-the-box thinking to help solve the issue of airfield congestion utilizing HOV methods. Faculty adviser: Jasenka Rakas.

The second first-place winner was a team of undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Utah’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department for its proposal titled Automatic Independent Video-based Air Traffic Surveillance System (AIVATS). The students presented a much needed and innovative design for an automatic system that would monitor air traffic at non-towered airports. Faculty adviser: Abbas Rashidi.

In addition, teams from Pennsylvania State University and Michigan Technological University won second-place awards, a team from Purdue University won a third-place award, and teams from Purdue University, Florida Institute of Technology, and Pennsylvania State University received honorable mentions.

Students were invited to propose innovations in any of the four technical challenge areas. The competition requires that students work with a faculty adviser and that they reach out to airport operators and industry experts to give advice and assess the practicality of their proposed design solutions. The Virginia Space Grant Consortium of Hampton, Virginia, manages the competition on behalf of the ACRP. Funding for the competition is provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Volunteer panels of airport industry and academic practitioners as well as FAA representatives selected the winning submissions from among the proposals submitted by 63 student teams. First-place winners will receive their awards and present their work at a virtual awards ceremony on Aug. 4. The students will also present their designs at the virtual Airport Consultant Council’s Airport Technical Workshop as a keynote presentation. In addition, they will be given the opportunity to present their winning proposal at an industry professional conference or workshop in fall 2021. Winning teams receive $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place, $1,000 for third place, and $500 for honorable mentions.

The names of all winners and copies of designs receiving place awards are available at https://vsgc.odu.edu/acrpdesigncompetition/2021-competition-winners-3/.

New guidelines for the 2021-2022 academic year competition will be available on the competition website by Aug. 1, 2021.

The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) is an industry-driven, applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to airport challenges. The program is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), which is a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. The National Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org.

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• A team of undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University won first place for its proposal, A Cost-effective Approach to Predict Noise Impacts for Non-Towered General Aviation Airports. The students proposed a design for airport noise modeling that has potential for future development. Faculty adviser: John Mott.

• A team of graduate students from Purdue University School of Aviation and Transportation Technology won first place for its Aircraft Portable Stair and Accessible Loader (PSAL). The design offered an aircraft portable stair system for enplaning and deplaning that would address the safety issues of the current stair systems, including using a conveyer system for transporting carry-on items. Faculty adviser: Mary
Johnson.

• A team of undergraduate and graduate students from Michigan Technological University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering department won first place for Runway Intersection Marking. The student’s innovative design brought many technologies together in an affordable system for mid-size and general aviation airports. Faculty adviser: Audra Morse.

• A graduate team from Purdue University won for its proposal, Commercial Space Advancement through Venture and Operations (CSAVO) Initiative. The design proposal addresses impacts of adapting existing general aviation airports to incorporate entry-level spaceport operations. Faculty adviser: Mary Johnson.

In addition, teams from Purdue University, Binghamton University – State University of New York, Michigan Technological University and the University of South Florida won second-place awards. Two teams from Penn State University as well as teams from Binghamton University – State University of New York and Purdue University won third-place awards. Teams from Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology and the University of Oklahoma received honorable mentions.

Students were invited to propose innovations in any of the four technical challenge areas. The competition requires that students work with a faculty adviser and that they reach out to airport operators and industry experts to obtain advice and assess the practicality of their proposed design solutions. The Virginia Space Grant Consortium of Hampton, Virginia, manages the competition on behalf of the ACRP. Funding for the competition is provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Volunteer panels of airport industry and academic practitioners as well as FAA representatives selected the winning submissions from among the proposals submitted by 63 student teams. First-place teams will receive their awards and present their work at the Keck Center of the National Academies in Washington, D.C., on October 19, 2020. The students will also present their designs at the Airport Consultant Council’s Airport Technical Workshop in Washington, D.C as a keynote presentation. In addition, they will be given the opportunity to present their winning proposal at an industry professional conference or workshop in fall 2020. Winning teams receive $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place, $1,000 for third place, and $500 for honorable mentions. The names of all winners and copies of designs receiving place awards are available here: https://vsgc.odu.edu/acrpdesigncompetition/2020-acrp-design-competition-winners-announced/.

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• An undergraduate team from the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley, won first place for its Smart Gate System for 400Hz Power Monitoring at Airports.  The design proposal offered an innovative and implementable solution for monitoring power usage at airport gates.  Faculty adviser: Jasenka Rakas

• A team of graduate students from Purdue University School of Aviation and Transportation Technology won first place for its Augmented Reality Airport Training System.  The well-written and presented design proposal offered an innovative training solution for airport personnel. Faculty adviser: Mary Johnson

• A team of undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Aviation Institute captured first place for Internet of Things in the Cockpit: Intelligent Runway Status Indication System (IRIS).  The student’s innovative design brought many technologies together in an affordable system for mid-size and general aviation airports.  Faculty adviser: Chenyu Huang

• A graduate team from Rutgers University’s School of Planning and Public Policy won for its proposal on Addressing Airport Congestion as Traffic Takes Off in the Age of Uber and Lyft.  The well-researched and presented design proposal offered a good revenue impact study and well-developed problem-solving approach.  Faculty adviser: Michael Smart

• A graduate team from Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology won with its Mobile Application Design for Aging Travelers in Commercial Airports. The well-written and sourced proposal offered an app design that provides basic information for the aging traveler in a simple to access and understandable manner.  The proposal included an excellent cost analysis.  Faculty adviser: Mary Johnson

The second first-place winner was a team of undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Utah’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department for its proposal titled Automatic Independent Video-based Air Traffic Surveillance System (AIVATS). The students presented a much needed and innovative design for an automatic system that would monitor air traffic at non-towered airports. Faculty adviser: Abbas Rashidi.

In addition, three Purdue University teams won second-place awards, teams from Penn State University and the University of Missouri, Columbia, won third-place awards, and two teams from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and one from Penn State University received honorable mentions.  

Students were invited to propose innovations in any of the four technical challenge areas. The competition requires that students work with a faculty adviser and that they reach out to airport operators and industry experts to obtain advice and assess the practicality of their proposed design solutions. The Virginia Space Grant Consortium of Hampton, Virginia, manages the competition on behalf of the ACRP.

Volunteer panels of airport industry and academic practitioners as well as FAA representatives selected the winning submissions from among the proposals submitted by 48 student teams. First-place teams will receive their awards and present their work at the Keck Center of the National Academies in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 16.  The students will also present their design at the Airport Consultant Council’s Airport Technical Workshop in Washington, D.C., on that day as the luncheon keynote presentation. In addition, they will be given the opportunity to present their winning proposal at an industry professional conference or workshop in late summer or fall 2019.  Winning teams receive $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place, $1,000 for third place, and $500 for honorable mentions.

The names of all winners and copies of designs receiving place awards are available at https://vsgc.odu.edu/acrpdesigncompetition/2019-competitionwinners/.

New guidelines for the 2019-2020 academic year competition will be available on the competition website by Aug. 1, 2019.

The Transportation Research Board is a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine.  The National Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.  For more information, visit http://national-academies.org. Funding for the competition is provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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The competition encourages out-of-the-box approaches to airport issues while providing quality educational experiences and exposure to aviation and airport-related careers. Student designs offered novel thinking on airport operations including accommodations for aging travelers, using drones for removing debris from runways, improving options for applying energy-saving technology, presenting an innovative approach to queuing for security checkpoint lines, and designing a software program to optimize runway allocations.

Students were invited to propose in four technical challenge areas: airport operations and maintenance; runway safety; airport environmental interactions; and airport management and planning. The competition requires that students work with a faculty adviser and reach out to airport operators and industry experts to obtain advice and assess the practicality of their proposed designs/solutions.

The ACRP is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and managed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine through the TRB. This competition is managed for the ACRP by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium based in Hampton, Va.

Partnering organizations are: American Association of Airport Executives; Airport Consultants Council; Airports Council International – North America; National Association of State Aviation Officials; and University Aviation Association. Partners assist in developing competition guidelines, providing expert advisers for teams, disseminating competition information to organizational members, and participating in design reviews.

Volunteer panels of airport industry, academic practitioners, and representatives from the FAA selected the winning proposals. Students from winning teams equally divide cash prizes. First place teams receive their awards and will present their work at the Academies on the morning ofAug. 11, 2016, and then present their designs as the keynote luncheon speakers at the Airport Consultants Council (ACC) Airports Technical Workshop in Washington, D.C., the same day.

Copies of designs receiving first, second, and third place awards are available at the competition website: http://vsgc.odu.edu/ACRPDesignCompetition/

New guidelines for the 2016–2017 academic year competition will be available by Aug. 1,2016.

First Place Winners:

Runway Safety, Runway Incursions, and Runway Excursions: Airport Secure Perimeter Control System (ASPECTS), submitted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Adviser: Daiheng Ni, Ph.D., and Douglas Looze, Ph.D.

Airport Environmental Interactions: Mycoremediation Applications for Stormwater Management, submitted by the University of Colorado, Boulder. Adviser: Chris Corwin, Ph.D.

Airport Operations and Maintenance: SimpleQ, submitted by Stevens Institute of Technology. Adviser: Eirik Hole, [degree]

Airport Management and Planning: The Wingman 360 — A Practical Approach to Automated Wingtip Collision Avoidance, submitted by the University of Rhode Island. Adviser: Bahram Nassersharif, Ph.D.

Second Place Winners:

Runway Safety, Runway Incursions, and Runway Excursions: Touchscreen Air Traffic Management System (TAMS), submitted by Purdue University. Adviser: Timothy Ropp, [degree]

Airport Environmental Interactions: Life-Cycle Assessment of Airport Pavement Design Alternatives for Energy and Environmental Impacts, submitted by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  Adviser:  Hao Wang, Ph.D.

Airport Operations and Maintenance: Drone-Enabled Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Removal System in Ad Hoc Situations, submitted by the University of California, Berkeley. Adviser: Jasenka Rakas, Ph.D.

Airport Management and Planning (Two teams tied for second place): Multi-Objective Simulation-Based Optimization of Runway Operations Scheduling Using a Hybrid Metaheuristic Algorithm, submitted by Old Dominion University. Adviser: Ghaith Rabadi, Ph.D.

Planning the Intergenerational Airport: Making the Airport Better for Everyone, submitted by the University of Texas, Austin. Adviser:  Sandra Rosenbloom, Ph.D.

Third Place Winners:

Runway Safety, Runway Incursions, and Runway Excursions: Vehicle Incursion Prevention System, submitted by Binghamton University. Advisers: Chad Nixon, [degree], and Zachary Staff, [degree]

Airport Environmental Interactions: Incorporating Renewable Power into Major U.S. Airports, submitted by Purdue University. Adviser: Mary Johnson, Ph.D.

Airport Operations and Maintenance: Just in Time, submitted by Georgia Institute of Technology. Adviser: John Paul Clarke, Sc.D.

Airport Management and Planning: Semi-Autonomous Electric Taxi System, submitted by Purdue University. Adviser: Mary Johnson, Ph.D.

Honorable Mentions:

Airport Operations and Maintenance: Design of a Robust, Inexpensive System to Enhance Drone Flight Data, submitted by the University of Southern California. Advisers: Thomas Anthony, Ph.D., and Daniel Scalese, Ph.D.

Airport Management and Planning: Capital Improvement Plan Automated Tool, submitted by Binghamton University. Advisers: Chad Nixon, [degree], and Zachary Staff, [degree]

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