University teams envision aviation responses to natural disasters

Eight teams in the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies: Advancing Aviation for Natural Disasters Competition are moving forward to show their designs to a panel of industry experts. The teams have researched aviation-related systems that will aid in natural disaster management and will show their concepts at an upcoming forum. The eight teams will present design concepts to a panel of industry experts at the 2024 Blue Skies Forum on May 30 and 31 at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. This year's competition is sponsored by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The teams have been asked to submit a five-to-seven-page proposal and a video to summarize their concepts. "We are thrilled with the diversity of ideas from all the finalists and can see their passion for making a real impact in natural disaster response through new and improved aviation systems," said Steven Holz, NASA Aeronautics University Innovation Assistant Project Manager and Blue Skies judge and co-chair. "We look forward to seeing their final papers, infographics, and hearing their final presentations at the forum." The finalists in the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies: Advancing Aviation for Natural Disasters project are representing a range of natural disaster response types, including earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, floods and wildfires. Finalists include: Boston University - Deployable Unmanned Aerial System to Detect and Map Volcanic Ash Clouds with advisor James Geiger. Boston University - Rapid Evaluation, Coordination, Observation, Verification andamp; Environmental Reporting (RECOVER) with advisor Dr. Anthony Linn. Bowie State University - Enhancing Earthquake Disaster Relief with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with advisor Dr. Haydar Teymourlouei. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona - Aero-Quake Emergency Response Network with advisor Mark Gonda. Cerritos College - F.I.R.E. (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller) with advisor Janet McLarty-Schroeder. Columbia University - AVATARS: Aerial Vehicles for Avalanche Terrain Assessment and Reporting Systems with faculty advisor Dr. Mike Massimino. North Carolina State University - Reconnaissance and Emergency Aircraft for Critical Hurricane Relief (REACHR) with advisor Dr. Felix Ewere. University of Texas, Austin - Data Integrated UAV for Wildfire Management with advisor Dr. Christian Claudel. With climate change influencing the frequency and severity of natural disasters globally, there are increasing opportunities to contribute to the new wave of technological advancement. NASA Aeronautics is dedicated to growing the effort to assist commercial, industry and government partners to advance aviation-related systems to help prepare for natural disasters, reduce the impact and accelerate recovery efforts. The eight finalist teams will each receive $8,000 in stipends to facilitate full participation in the Gateways to Blue Skies Forum in May, which will be live-streamed globally. The winning team members will earn a chance to intern at one of NASA's Aeronautics centers in the 2024-25 academic year.