Engineering Commons^™

Localized Collocation Meshless Method For Modeling Transdermal Pharmacokinetics In Multiphase Skin Structures, Eduardo Divo

Math Department Colloquium Series

The human skin has a complicated structure with many multi-scale, biophysical effects impacting the propagation of skin-injected substances, such as partitioning, metabolic reactions, adsorption and elimination. An extended version of Fick’s second law governing the process of the compound diffusion in various skin layer is employed in the current work by considering the conservation of mass of the substance and the metabolic reaction of the substance in viable skin. Additionally, a model assuming linear coupling between the substance concentrations that are bound and unbound with blood was developed. Using such a model, a set of coupled partial differential equations are …

Resource Optimization For Air Mobility Under Emergency Situations, Yongxin (Jack) Liu

Math Department Colloquium Series

This project aims to improve air traffic management in emergencies. We first developed a GRU neural network to forecast weather-related airport capacity constraints using historical data, underscoring the value of real-time data analysis. We then optimized emergency evacuation air travel using Particle Swarm Optimization, demonstrating the ability to quickly aggregate evacuation flight resources cost-effectively. Finally, we provided a hybrid model combining a genetic algorithm with a neural network for evacuation planning, we show that neural network can be integrated accelerate genetic algorithms for efficient and performance assured system optimization.

A Double Taboo? An Exploratory Study Of Mental Health Perceptions Amongst Black Aerospace Professionals, Theodore W. Johnson Ph.D., Arlean Timmons, Kenisha V. Ford, Harriet Sanya

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This exploratory study delves into the often-overlooked realm of mental health perceptions among Black aerospace professionals, shedding light on a double taboo within a historically stigmatized industry and community. In response to the escalating mental health crisis in the U.S. and scarcity of research focusing exclusively on the mental health experiences of Black aerospace professionals, this research endeavors to uncover their unique perspectives.

The findings from the study indicate that Black aerospace professionals navigate not only the universal challenges of mental health but also complex socio-cultural and workplace factors, such as discrimination, underrepresentation, and the historic reluctance to discuss mental …

Green Skies Over Akron: “Revolutionizing Cak With A $20m Sustainability Blueprint", Oluwasemilore A. Akintelure, Kyle Rediger, Katie Horn

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Our groundbreaking research at Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) proposes a transformative $20 million electrical master plan, designed to revolutionize the airport into a sustainable aviation hub and an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) leader - a unique stance compared to similar airports in its economic corridor. This initiative, poised to impact millions of travelers, integrates cutting-edge solar panel installations and infrastructure for electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles. Our comprehensive analysis, encompassing energy consumption, economic impacts, and risk assessments, underpins this ambitious project. The implementation of green energy solutions is projected to substantially reduce CAK's carbon footprint, leading to a healthier …

Going Airborne: Kent State's Pioneering Leap Into Integrated Advanced Air Mobility, Jason T. Lorenzon

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This proposal centers on the development of a Concept of Operations in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Kent State University's College of Aeronautics and Engineering is poised to pioneer the integration of drones and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) systems, bridging the gap between its campus and airport by transporting students and faculty the 3NM distance from campus to the airport and back by a UAV. Beyond a standard research initiative, this proposal signifies a groundbreaking effort to reshape the landscape of educational aeronautics and Advanced Air Mobility and Urban Air Mobility. Our overarching goal is to transcend conventional boundaries …

Shaping Aam Educational Methods: A Comparison Of Traditional And Compressed Class Schedules In Uas Classes., Collin D. Mcdonald, Daniel Siao, Kevin Corns

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is a paradigm shift in the versatility of the aviation industry. The obvious benefits of this platform will revolutionize a variety of aspects of the industry. One of the aspects in which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended research is the effectiveness of the traditional educational methods. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching methodologies have become widely accepted in aviation. In addition, the format of traditional, instructor-led courses have also changed. Compressed schedules (accelerated courses) have become an additional option in some programs.

To better understand if there are statistically significant differences in testing …

Understanding Collegiate Aviation Pilot Mental Performance Studies And Future Research Opportunities, Debra Henneberry, Stephanie Brown, Flavio Coimbra, Julius Keller

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (2022), fatigue is defined as “a condition characterized by increased discomfort with lessened capacity for work, reduced efficiency of accomplishment, loss of power or capacity to respond to stimulation, and is usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness” (p. 2). Further outcomes of fatigue include tiredness, weakness, lack of energy, lethargy, depression, and lack of motivation (ICAO, 2016). Stress can release cortisol which can in turn cause sleep issues leading to fatigue (Harvard, 2021). In one study Mendonca, Keller, and Albelo (2023) found 69% (n = 192) percent of collegiate aviation pilots …

Examination Of Urban Air Mobility Integration Into The National Airspace System, Richard Stansbury, Clyde Rinkinen, William B. Coyne, Mykyta Zhyla, Randon Senn, Maaliyah Bowden

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) initiative aims to enhance air transportation for people and cargo in areas with limited aviation services. The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concept, under AAM, focuses on improving transportation connectivity within metropolitan areas. The FAA’s ASSURE UAS Center of Excellence has sponsored a project to provide recommendations for future technological developments, UAM airspace integration, infrastructure enhancements, and new regulations to support UAM flights. The team’s first milestone was a literature review to identify past work relevant to UAM, including airspace and operational constraints, infrastructure requirements, and communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) requirements. Two dominant concepts of …

Integrating Unmanned Aerial Systems For Enhanced Wildlife Hazard Assessment In Airport Environments, Savanna Box, Anna Golendukhina, Raymond Ayres, Nicholas Buckalew

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Our team has explored the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technologies to develop a concept of operations for data collection during a Wildlife Hazard Assessment. Data have been collected in a farmland area located two nautical miles south of Daytona Beach International Airport (Class C Airspace). The research team has applied and assessed the effectiveness of several Safety Risk Management protocols designed to ensure safe UAS operations during a WHA. The UAS crew has applied drone technologies to visually detect and record wildlife observations, activities, and natural habitats that could attract wildlife to the airport environment, as recommended by …

Using Natural Language Processing To Identify Mental Health Indicators In Aviation Voluntary Safety Reports, Michael Sawyer, Katherine Berry, Amelia Kinsella, R Jordan Hinson, Edward Bynum

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs (VSRPs) are a critical tool in the aviation industry for monitoring safety issues observed by the frontline workforce. While VSRPs primarily focus on operational safety, report narratives often describe factors such as fatigue, workload, culture, staffing, and health, directly or indirectly impacting mental health. These reports can provide individual and organizational insights into aviation personnel's physical and psychological well-being. This poster introduces the AVIation Analytic Neural network for Safety events (AVIAN-S) model as a potential tool to extract and monitor these insights. AVIAN-S is a novel machine-learning model that leverages natural language processing (NLP) to analyze …

Transfer Learning In The Era Of Foundational Models: Application To Diagnosis In Rheumatology, Prashant Shekhar

Math Department Colloquium Series

Problems with current synovitis grading procedures

• There has been a lack of reliability in grading these images in the medical community due to a lack of universally accepted diagnostic criteria [Momtazmanesh et al., 2022]
• The human/machine variability creates an additional challenge in an efficient automated scoring system [Ranganath et al., 2022]
• There is a lack of consistency between doctors in grading these images [Momtazmanesh et al., 2022]

Understanding Collective Performance: Human Factors And Team Science, Joseph Keebler

Math Department Colloquium Series

This talk will focus on modern issues with team science. Joe will discuss a variety of projects he's been involved with aimed at improving teamwork in complex sociotechnical systems including military, aviation, and healthcare. He will discuss major theoretical facets of teamwork and provide evidence-based best practices that were utilized to improve teams in applied settings.

Modeling And Estimation Of A Continuous Flexible Structure Using The Theory Of Functional Connections, Riccardo Bevilacqua

Math Department Colloquium Series

This talk presents a novel method for modeling and estimating the dynamics of a continuous structure based on a limited number of noisy measurements. The goal is reached using a Kalman filter in synergy with the recently developed mathematical framework known as the Theory of Functional Connections (TFC). The TFC allows to derive a functional expression capable of representing the entire space of the functions that satisfy a given set of linear and, in some cases, nonlinear constraints. The proposed approach exploits the possibilities offered by the TFC to derive an approximated dynamical model for the flexible system using the …

Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning, Dumindu Samaraweera

Math Department Colloquium Series

AI's applicability across diverse fields is hindered by data sensitivity, privacy concerns, and limited training data availability. Federated Learning (FL) addresses this challenge by enabling collaborative machine learning while preserving data privacy. FL allows clients to engage in model training with their local data, avoiding centralized storage. However, even with FL, security threats persist, jeopardizing model integrity and client data privacy. In this presentation, we will explore our latest findings in this area of research, safeguarding sensitive data from attacks through techniques like secure multiparty computation, homomorphic encryption, and differential privacy within the FL framework, enhancing data protection, and expanding …

A Low-Complexity Algorithm To Determine Spacecraft Trajectories, Sirani Perera

Math Department Colloquium Series

The growing traffic within the Cislunar region has created a need for computationally effective methods to obtain the trajectories of spacecraft in the Cislunar region. By developing algorithms with low time and arithmetic complexities, we can effectively address these needs.

In this talk, we will present a mathematical model that uses interpolation and boundary conditions to obtain trajectories for satellites based on the principles of three-body dynamics. Following the model, we propose a low- complexity algorithm to generate satellite trajectories. Once the algorithm is proposed, we will apply it to the relevant periodic orbits in the Cislunar region. Finally, we …

Air Carrier Pilot Training, Supply & Recruitment Challenges, Paul Ryder, Todd Lisak

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The route to airline recovery following the global COVID-19 pandemic is flush with opportunity for airlines, unions, and regulators to work together within current regulatory structures to recruit the next generation of aviation professionals, while continuing to ensure they are properly trained, qualified and mentored for safe flight operations. As an industry we have raised interest in pursuing aviation, but more still should be done.

The pace of the recovery from the pandemic induced reductions in air travel is testing United States pilot training and recruitment systems.

The reductions in air travel at the beginning of the pandemic led to …

Advanced Air Mobility Human Factors Considerations For Current Evtol Pilot Interfaces, Bhoomin B. Chauhan, Maria Chaparro Osman, Kendall Carmody, Meredith Carroll

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a novel transportation concept using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to move people and cargo in urban and rural environments. The emergence of AAM has led to a range of different eVTOL vehicle designs at different stages in development, flight testing, and certification. Although these aircraft will serve similar markets, they will have different operational capabilities and pilot interfaces. These aircraft vary in whether they are (a) multi-rotor and have tilt-rotor capabilities, or (b) winged with tilt-wing capabilities, vectored thrust, fans, or propellers. The pilot interfaces in eVTOL align with the concept of …

The Value Of Strong Partnerships To Build A Successful Aviation Maintenance Career Pathway Program For Transitioning Military Service Members, Angela C. Albritton, Kenneth Witcher Ph.D., Christopher Toppin

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The aerospace industry is competing with other industries for a qualified workforce, and many of those competing industries are investing heavily in creating workforce development pipelines. Boeing (2021) forecasts that 626,000 new aviation maintenance technicians will be needed over the next 20 years. If the aerospace industry is unable to recruit the skilled workforce they require, it could have a ripple effect felt globally. Career pathway programs are emerging as essential to inspiring and recruiting the next generation of aviation professionals. How can industry, academia and government work together to find more innovative ways to address the growing need for …

Change Fatigue In Aviation Maintenance Through A Human Factors Lens, Stephanie Douglas, Bettina Mrusek

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Aviation is a demanding and fast-paced industry and it is not uncommon for aviation professionals, including maintainers, to experience rapid disruption and organizational change. Fatigue in aviation professionals is a known risk. Fatigue risk management systems (FRMS) seek to mitigate this risk by focusing on tiredness resulting from long work hours and lack of quality sleep. Recently, change fatigue has also risen to the forefront of business and employee studies. In many of today’s industries, change is constant as firms implement changes either to address disruptions, business growth or to follow trends in the industry. Frequent changes in an organization …

Workforce Of The Future Begins With Aviation Stem, Lyndsay Digneo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The United States has always been a world leader in aviation. This leadership position relies on the strength of the American STEM workforce and the quality of the nation’s educational, industrial, and government institutions. Therefore, it is imperative to nurture today’s students to become a well-trained STEM workforce in the future.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) recognizes that in pursuing its mission of aviation research, engineering, development, and test and evaluation, it is in a unique position to support aviation STEM activities for schools (K-12), post-secondary institutions, and community organizations. In 2016, the Technical …

Determining The Effectiveness Of Single-Pilot Resource Management In General Aviation, Alaba Gabriel Idowu, Holly Augustine, Michael Adebola Shogbonyo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This research aims to determine the effectiveness of single-pilot resource management (SRM) towards improved safety in general aviation (GA) as compared to its counterpart, crew resource management (CRM), in commercial aviation that has improved commercial safety drastically. GA safety has been a significant concern due to many fatalities. Despite SRM concepts to ensure safe and successful flight operations, evidence showed that GA suffers a higher fatal accident rate than scheduled airline flights and holds a lackluster safety record, accounting for 94% of civil aviation fatalities. In contrast, commercial aviation safety has improved since the implementation of CRM. The investigation examines …

Why Should Airline Workers Be Trained To Respond To Fume Events?, Judith Tl Anderson

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The potential for engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes to contaminate the ventilation air supplied to the aircraft cabin and flight deck has been recognized since the 1950s as a function of the design and maintenance of the bleed air system. The presence of oil and hydraulic fluid in the bleed air matters because the fumes contain complex mixtures of chemicals, including toxic additives. Starting in the 1950s and continuing to this day, crewmembers around the world have documented ill health during and after breathing these fumes. Also, some crewmembers have reported impairment and even incapacitation inflight, resulting in investigations …

Utilizing Drones To Streamline Wildlife Hazard Management Efforts By Airport Operators, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Ryan Wallace, Jose Cabrera, Cole Mcnall

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Airports operating under the Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 should conduct a wildlife hazard assessment (WHA) when some wildlife-strike events have occurred at or near the airport. The WHA must be conducted by a Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist (QAWB). The required elements in a WHA include the identification of the wildlife species observed and their numbers, and the location of features on and near the airport that could attract wildlife. Service learning and research projects enable undergraduate students to develop transferable skills that are highly valued by the aviation industry, including critical thinking, self-confidence, the ability to integrate theory …

Development Of Upset Recovery And Basic Aerobatic Courses For Collegiate Flight Training Programs, Warren P. Pittorie, Michaela C. Satter, Meredith Carroll Phd

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Upset recovery and aerobatics are two topics in general aviation that are often overlooked by commercial pilots in training. This can be due to several different constraints, such as not having the time or resources to receive optional flight instruction, or the workload involved with locating a reputable school and qualified flight instructor. In addition, upset recovery and aerobatics training is not required to become a commercially rated pilot and start a career in the aviation industry. However, both topics, especially upset recovery, can increase a pilot’s awareness of the limitations of their own aircraft and increase their confidence when …

Development Of A Safety Performance Decision-Making Tool For Flight Training Organizations, Marisa D. Aguiar Phd, Carolina L. Anderson Phd

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The purpose of the research was to create and validate a safety performance decision-making tool to transform a reactive safety model into a predictive, decision-making tool, specific to large, collegiate Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 141 flight training organizations, to increase safety and aid in operational decision-making. Using Monte Carlo simulation, the study conducted simulation runs based on true operational ranges to simulate the operating conditions possible within large, collegiate CFR Part 141 flight training organizations with varying levels of controllable resources in terms of personnel (Aviation Maintenance Technicians and Instructor Pilots) and expenditures (active …

Airline Pilot Risk Profiling By Using Unstable Approach Management Case, Selim Ozyurek

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Risk and human decision-making cannot be separated from each other. Many of theories and studies have tried to analyze pilots’ decision-making processes, risk factors, and preference behavior in the aviation domain. Unstable approaches are fairly infrequent, but an unstable approach is a major risk factor for landing accidents (Smith & Curtis, 2013; Smith, Jamieson, & Curtis, 2012). Therefore, the decision to execute a go-around if an approach is not sufficiently stable is encouraged in the interest of safety (Airbus Customer Services, 2012; Flight Safety Foundation, 2013), but in practice less than 5% of the unstable approaches actually results in a …

A Bidirectional Deep Lstm Machine Learning Method For Flight Delay Modelling And Analysis, Desmond B. Bisandu, Irene Moulitsas

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Flight delays can be prevented by providing a reference point from an accurate prediction model because predicting flight delays is a problem with a specific space. Only a few algorithms consider predicted classes' mutual correlation during flight delay classification or prediction modelling tasks. None of these existing methods works for all scenarios. Therefore, the need to investigate the performance of more models in solving the problem of flight delay is vast and rapidly increasing. This paper presents the development and evaluation of LSTM and BiLSTM models by comparing them for a flight delay prediction. The LSTM does the feature extraction …

Integrated Organizational Machine Learning For Aviation Flight Data, Michael J. Pritchard, Paul Thomas, Eric Webb, Jon Martin, Austin Walden

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

An increased availability of data and computing power has allowed organizations to apply machine learning techniques to various fleet monitoring activities. Additionally, our ability to acquire aircraft data has increased due to the miniaturization of small form factor computing machines. Aircraft data collection processes contain many data features in the form of multivariate time-series (continuous, discrete, categorical, etc.) which can be used to train machine learning models. Yet, three major challenges still face many flight organizations 1) integration and automation of data collection frameworks, 2) data cleanup and preparation, and 3) embedded machine learning framework. Data cleanup and preparation has …

Factors Influencing Users’ Attitudes Towards Using Brain Computer Interface (Bci) For Non Medical Uses: An Application Of The Technology Acceptance Model (Tam), Yichin Wu, Leila Halawi

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

While brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are gaining popularity in assisting people with illnesses, there is also increased technical research on incorporating BCI into healthy people’s lives. So far, not much research has focused on user attitudes, although some research has pointed out privacy and trust issues. Understanding potential users’ attitudes, expectations, and concerns early in the technology development stage is crucial for the novelty's success. For this reason, this study aims to understand the general publics’ attitude towards BCI for nonmedical uses using the technology acceptance model (TAM). The study will offer insights into how external factors including technology optimism, familiarity, …

Neutralization Of Fuel Tankering Emissions For Environmental Sustainability, Peter O'Reilly, Maria Petrescu, Fabricio Sulzbacher, Diogo Coutinho

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

As aviation has been one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions, this paper explores sustainable solutions in the equation of the economic savings from the fuel tankering practice, in a way it could represent gains of credibility for this industry (Boussauw & Vanoutrive, 2019). The fuel expenses in Brazil have been responsible for the highest operational cost for the airlines and, as a result, there has been an ongoing pursuit of the highest level of efficiency (ANAC, 2019). In this context, this study has been focused on the emerging Brazilian aviation market, and uses primary data collected from three major …