Proposals For Alternative Fuels, GPS Technologies
Two student teams from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University recently took first-place awards in the
FAA's Design Competition for Universities for their proposals on
the use of alternative fuels and GPS technology at airports.
A team of business administration students from Embry-Riddle's
Sky Harbor Campus in Phoenix, AZ took the first-place award in the
category of Airport Environmental Interactions for a proposal to
use solar energy as a clean, cost-effective alternative fuel for
airport ground support equipment. A second Sky Harbor team captured
an honorable mention in the Runway Safety/Runway Incursions
category.
"This educational experience provided an excellent opportunity
for students to conduct individual as well as collaborative
research to solve challenging issues of importance to all airports.
The learning, teamwork, and spirit displayed by these student teams
was outstanding," said Dr. Edward Gordhammer, an Embry-Riddle
business administration professor and advisor to the Sky Harbor
teams.
The first-place Sky Harbor student team members were Cynthia
Cooke (project lead), Zeino Daryani, Roxann Favors, Tamie Fisher,
Samuel Niko, Robyn Sullivan, and Sandra Torres.
The Airport Management Club at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach
campus, led by College of Business students Joost Vlek (project
lead), Richard Genge, and Andrew Wilhelm, was the top team in the
category of Runway Safety/Runway Incursions. Their proposal
recommends using GPS technologies in a new way to decrease runway
incursions caused by ground vehicles operating around runways.
"All of us in the College of Business are very proud of the hard
work and ingenuity of our students," said Dr. Seth Young, an
Embry-Riddle business professor and advisor to the club. "They've
made a solid contribution to the industry with a cost-effective
technology proposal that should be considered for further
development."
This year's competition attracted 36 proposals from 16 colleges
and universities. The winning proposals were selected by panels of
FAA, industry, and academic experts. The Sky Harbor teams will
receive $3,000 and the Daytona Beach team $2,500, and both
first-place teams will present their winning proposals at the
American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) annual meeting in
New Orleans this month.
Besides the AAAE, other partnering organizations in the
competition were the Airport Consultants Council, the Airports
Council International – North America, and the National
Association of State Aviation Officials.
The FAA Design Competition for Universities challenges students
to address airport operations and infrastructure issues by
requiring them to reach out to airport operators and industry
experts to advise them in their proposals and to help them assess
the efficacy of their proposed designs/solutions.