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Risk Modeling for Small UAS in Controlled Airspace Around Airports

Tom Sheridan, PhD

Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering and Aero-Astro Departments, MIT

Jason Lu

Aerospace Engineer, U.S. DOT Volpe Center


As part of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s ongoing Transportation Trajectories speaker seriesTom Sheridan, PhD, and Jason Lu will discuss how the Volpe Center is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop a collision risk model for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) covered by Part 107 and operating below 400 feet in key terminal airspace where business and commercial users also enter the airspace.

This work will inform requirements for an automated authorization and notification tool for small UAV operations.

Attend the Event

The public is invited to join us in person or via live-streamed webinar. Audience members will be able to share ideas and engage with Sheridan and Lu during a Q&A period.

Register now to watch the live-streamed video webinar or attend in person.

About the Speakers

Tom SheridanTom Sheridan, PhD, is an internationally renowned expert in human factors and professor emeritus in the Mechanical Engineering and Aero-Astro Departments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He directed a lab at MIT on human-automation interaction and has authored six books on that topic. He has an ScD from MIT; an honorary doctorate from Delft University, Netherlands; and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Jason LuJason Lu is an aerospace engineer at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, working in the Air Navigation and Surveillance Division. He is currently working on Part 107 Small UAS safety risk analyses and FAA Surveillance and Broadcast Services safety risk management analyses. He has a BS in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland-College Park, and an MS in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.