Research Projects Directory

PI Daniel Halperin
Producing reliable tropical cyclone (TC) genesis forecasts is an operational priority. The National Hurricane Center uses several TC genesis guidance products for their Tropical Weather Outlook. Furthermore, global model output is used in many TC genesis guidance products and is considered an important source of deterministic TC genesis forecast guidance. This project creates a standard framework for verifying deterministic and probabilistic TC genesis forecasts using the TC-Gen tool in the Model Evaluation Tools software package.

PI Massood Towhidnejad

CO-I Richard Stansbury
For this project, Embry-Riddle faculty and students are collaborating with the sponsor, the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation, and the MITRE Corporation to produce an ADS-B technology capable of supporting the tracking of commercial space operations of sounding rockets and reusable launch vehicles.

Air Sea Interaction

PI Shahrdad Sajjadi

CO-I Ciprian Mancas

CO-I Frederique Drullion

CO-I Harihar Khanal
Many studies have been conducted on air-sea interactions. However, their main focus is on the dynamics of air-sea interactions of turbulent wind over non-linear unsteady waves. This project is in collaboration with University College London and the Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

PI Hui Wang

CO-I Edward Mummert
As demand for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations increases, it is vital to understand its effects on air traffic controllers and the safety of the national airspace system. This study’s primary purpose is to determine how UAVs that operate in controlled airspace would influence air traffic controllers’ occupational stress and performance. In a within-subject experimental research design, 24 participants sampled from a university’s undergraduate Air Traffic Management (ATM) program completed three different air traffic control (ATC) scenarios on an en-route ATC simulation system. The degree of UAV automation and control were varied in each scenario. The participants’ stress levels, performance, and workload were measured with both objective and subjective measurements. Within-subjects ANOVA tests showed significant effects on the participants’ stress level, performance, and workload when automated UAVs were present in the scenario. Participants experienced increased workload, the highest level of stress, and carried out the worst performance when with controllable UAVs in the airspace. These findings can inform UAV integration into controlled airspace and future research into UAV automation and control and ATC management.

PI Massoud Bazargan
Airlines today employ various strategies to cut costs and become lean and efficient.

PI Joshua Wadler
The primary objective of this proposal is to use uncrewed aircraft technology and atmospheric profilers to measure turbulence in the tropical cyclone (TC) boundary layer and to use those measurements to improve NOAA’s operational models.

Airline Pilot Shortage

PI Daniel Friedenzohn
With colleagues from other academic institutions this project undertook to analyze various pilot supply issues and their impact on the airline industry. The research relied on quantitative data supplied by various databases as well as information provided by the FAA.

PI James Hartman

CO-I Mark Friend
The purpose of this dissertation was to bridge the existing literature gap of outdated contextual factor (CF) research through examination and determination of current General Aviation (GA) Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 visual flight rules (VFR)-into-instrument meteorological condition (IMC) contextual factors. Contextual factors are a multifaceted arrangement of pertinent events or occurrences contributing to pilot accidents in weather-related decision-making errors.

PI Kabir Kasim

CO-I Scott Winter
This research investigated the factors that influence passengers’ intentions to choose the use of biometrics over other methods of identification. The current study utilized a quantitative research method via an online survey of 689 persons from Amazon ® Mechanical Turk ® (MTurk) and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques for data analysis. The study utilized the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as the grounded theory, while perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were included as additional factors that could influence individuals’ intentions to use new technology.

PI Lulu Sun

CO-I Christina Frederick

CO-I Paula Sanjuan Espejo

CO-I Rebecca Rohmeyer
This research seeks to fundamentally change how students learn programming using Second Language Acquisition and Blended Learning (SLA-aBLe). This approach can be easily transferred to K-12 curricula, increasing access to STEM learning for diverse student populations. By developing an engineering faculty member's expertise in engineering education research, it will enhance communication and collaboration among faculty members and student researchers in different disciplines.

PI Hever Moncayo
This research project, funded by the US Defense Department, represents a collaboration between Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and West Virginia University (WVU). Two ERAU graduate students are fully involved in this project, one AE PhD student and one Master Student.