President's Report Masthead
June 30, 2015

Binghamton University wins FAA competition again

Binghamton University students did it again – taking first place in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Cooperative Research Program University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs.

The student team tied with Roger Williams University for first, for its entry titled, “An Automated System for Managing Vegetative Obstructions.”

Binghamton students entered the competition via a Binghamton University Scholars elective course called Project Management, taught by Chad Nixon, senior vice president and business development officer for McFarland Johnson, Inc. Nixon has worked with Binghamton students since computer science students first began entering the competition in 2008-2009. For the last seven years in a row, Binghamton students have placed at or near the top and every student who has taken the course since that first offering has won prize money from the FAA.

Team leaders were Jason Moss, majoring in mechanical engineering, and Rachel Kiesling, a mathematics and chemistry double major. In all, the nine undergraduates represented nine different majors across three schools: Watson, Harpur and School of Management.

Competitors included San Jose State University, University of Missouri, Roger Williams University, Tufts University School of Engineering and others.