Agency Selects Design Competition Winners

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The University of Southern California, Ohio State University and Binghamton University won the top prizes in the FAA’s third annual Design Competition for Universities. Nine other submissions also received awards.

The competition, administered by the Office of Runway Safety and managed by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium in Hampton, Va., was created to engage students in airport-related issues. Students working under the guidance of faculty mentors were presented with a number of technical challenges relating to operations, maintenance, runway safety, the environment, management and planning. Students reached out to airport operators and industry experts for advice with their proposed designs and solutions.

The winners were selected by panels of FAA, industry and academic experts. The winning teams received $2,500 for a first place prize, $1,500 for second, $1,000 for third and $500 for an honorable mention. The first place teams presented their work and received their awards today at the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) annual meeting in Philadelphia.

Other organizations participating in the competition are AAAE, Airport Consultants Council, Airports Council International – North America, the National Association of State Aviation Officials and the University Aviation Association.  These organizations helped develop competition guidelines, provided expert advisors for the students and reviewed their proposals.

A team of students from the Computer Science Department at the University of Southern California won the first place award for Runway Safety. The students designed a program called Controller Intent Monitoring Interface (CIMI), which would ensure that high-speed runway operations are performed in a manner consistent with FAA regulations.
The Department of Aviation at Ohio State won the top prize for the Airport Management and Planning Challenge. The team presented a web-based tool to enhance Safety Management System (SMS) planning and management.

The Computer Science Department at Binghamton University won the top prize for the Airport Environmental Interactions and Airport Operation and Maintenance challenges.  The submission, titled “High Vacuum Evaporator to Treat Anti-icing,” was recognized for its practicality and technical feasibility. 

The Department of Computer Science at the University of Southern California won second place in the Runway Safety/Runway Incursions Challenge. Honorable mention went to a student from Rutgers’ Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Teams from the Department of Aviation and Technology at San Jose State University won second and third places in the Airport Environmental Interactions Challenge. Honorable mention went to a team from the Aeronautics Division, College of Technology at Kent State.

The Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign won second place in the Airport Operation and Maintenance Challenge. Honorable mention went to a team from the Industrial & Operations Engineering Department at the University of Michigan.

The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Phoenix Sky Harbor Campus of the Worldwide Department of Business Administration won second place in the Airport Management and Planning Challenge. Third place went to a team from The University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute.

Copies of proposals receiving first, second or third place awards are available at: http://www.faa.gov/runwaysafety/design_competition.htm.