Mississippi's flagship research university and the nation's northernmost land-, sea- and space-grant institution are now working together to advance the development of unmanned aircraft system solutions for the oil and gas industry.
Mississippi State's David Shaw, vice president for research and economic development, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) to create a new, long-term partnership to advance interdisciplinary UAS research and development.
‘This relationship provides value not just to industry, but to the people of both Alaska and Mississippi, as it offers job growth and opportunities in a high-tech and growing industry,’ according to Marty W. Rogers, director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration at UAF.
In May, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that the Mississippi State-led Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) would operate the new National Center of Excellence for UAS. UAF is one of 15 core university members of the alliance.
‘We are looking forward to a successful partnership as we take leading-edge UAS research and turn it into FAA rules quickly,’ says USAF Maj. Gen. (Ret.) James Poss, the consortium's executive director.
‘This is a great step forward for MSU, UAF and ASSURE. This will make it much easier for Mississippi State to fly UAS research missions over Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico with the help of Alaska's Pan-Pacific UAS Test Site,’ he adds.
