The College of Aeronautics (COA) made its presence felt at conferences across the country this spring, with faculty, students and alumni presenting research spanning unmanned aviation, human factors and airport sustainability.
Doctoral student Xiaomeng Sun ’18, ’20 MSA, presented her unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum 2026 in January in Orlando, Florida. Co-authored with collaborators from Florida Tech’s Advancing Technology-interaction and Learning in Aviation Systems (ATLAS) Lab and NASA Langley Research Center, the study applied a four-step, user-centered design process to develop interface concepts for NASA’s MPATH ground control station, aimed at reducing operator workload as drone operations scale up.
In April, at the Industry, Engineering & Management Systems (IEMS) Conference in Clearwater, Florida, COA faculty, students and alumni authored and presented seven papers covering topics ranging from air traffic control staffing and drone sightings to crew dynamics and airport app usability. Professor Deborah Carstens ’96 MBA served as track chair for two Human Factors and Cognitive Engineering sessions. Authors included associate professor Brooke Wheeler, assistant professor Vivek Sharma ’18 M.S., ’23 Ph.D., COA Dean John Deaton and several student and alumni collaborators.
Undergraduate student Julia Labick presented her research at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) 2026 AirTalent Undergraduate Research Symposium in April in California, Maryland. Her project, developed through the ATLAS Lab in collaboration with NAWCAD Training Systems Division and funded by the NAWCAD Capstone Challenge, integrated eye-tracking hardware with a commercial flight simulator to evaluate the technology’s reliability for future flight-training research.
Sun and doctoral student Nikhita Agasam also showcased their research at the 2026 Conference of Florida Graduate Schools in April in Gainesville, Florida. Agasam’s research examined sustainability behavior among airport personnel nationwide. Her findings suggest intrinsic motivation and social factors drive green behavior among airport employees more than monetary incentives. Sun brought her UAV ground control station research to the conference, extending its reach to a statewide audience.
