NASA selected two other college students teams to help address real-world aviation challenges by aiming to use drone relief and improve protection from air traffic systems against cyber threats.

The research award was presented through NASA's University Student Research Challenge (USRC), which provides student-led teams with the opportunity to contribute their novel ideas to advance NASA's aeronautical research priorities.

As part of the USRC, students participate in the real world of innovative aeronautical research in the laboratory and outside the laboratory.

“USRC remains a way for students to push boundaries as they explore the possibilities of the aviation industry tomorrow,” said Steven Holz, who is responsible for the process of the USRC awards. "For some, this is their first opportunity to interact with NASA. For others, they may be bringing their ideas from our portal to the Blue Sky Game and bringing them closer to reality."

As far as one of the new winners is concerned, North Carolina State University in Raleigh applied for their USRC award, a concept that makes them finalists for NASA's 2024 Blue Sky Competition.

Each student team selected for the USRC award will receive up to $80,000 in NASA grants and will be responsible for raising additional funds through student-leader crowdfunding. This process helps students develop skills in entrepreneurship and public communication.

The new university team and research topics are:

“Reconnaissance and Emergency Aircraft Relief for Critical Hurricanes,” will develop and deploy Advanced Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) designed to locate, communicate and deliver critical supplies to those stranded after natural disasters.

The team includes Tobias Hullette (Team Lead), Jose Vizcarrondo, Rishi Ghosh, Caleb Gobel, Lucas Nicol, Ajay Pandya, Paul Randolph and Hadie Sabbah, and faculty Felix Ewere.

“Context-aware Cybersecurity for UAS Traffic Management” will develop, test and pursue the implementation of aviation network-aware network authentication systems for the overall management of cybersecurity threats to enable future drone traffic control systems.

The team includes Vishwam Raval (team leader), Nick Truong, Oscar Leon, Kevin Lei, Garett Haynes, Michael Ades, Sarah Lee and Aidan Spira, as well as the instructor Sandip Roy.

The NASA Aeronautics Research Design Mission Board Tender Page provides complete details about USRC winners and tenders, such as what is in the proposal and how to submit it.