In the Spotlight

Dr. Wesley Major from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch, Safety Section, shadowed a Part 139 airport certification inspector at Orlando International Airport on April 21-26, 2024. Dr. Major learned about the role of airport certification inspectors and their contribution to safe aviation operations, and the processes of preparing, executing, and debriefing after an inspection. He made connections with the airport’s operations team and the wildlife biologist and wildlife specialists. This knowledge will enhance the ongoing safety research at the FAA Technical Center.

Dr. Wesley Major | wesley.major@faa.gov

Darian Byrd, Electrical Engineer from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch, Safety Section, presented updates on aviation lighting research projects to the Illuminating Engineer Society Aviation Lighting Committee (IESALC) Government Contacts Sub-Committee Meeting on April 25, 2024, at FAA Headquarters in Washington DC. Byrd discussed the status of four ongoing aviation lighting research projects: Solar-Powered Airport Lighting; Lighting X Runway Closure Marker evaluation of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) findings; Melting Obstruction Lighting at Oil Refineries; and Mid-Mast Wind Turbine Obstruction Lighting. In addition, he received feedback regarding next steps on ATR’s lighting research.

Darian Byrd | darian.a.byrd@faa.gov

Dr. Navneet Garg from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch, Pavement Section, attended a workshop in Atlanta, Georgia on April 18, 2024, for the FAA and Airfield Asphalt Pavement Technology Program (AAPTP) research project "Synthesis of State of Practice and Research Needs for Airfield Asphalt Pavement Resilience." Among the 50 attendees were representatives from FAA Northwest Mountain Region Airports Division, academia, consultants, U.S. airports, and AAPTP NAPA lead, Joseph Shacat. The project team is composed of Auburn University and the University of New Hampshire for climate modeling, AECOM for airport outreach, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research Development Center (ERDC) for technical assistance related to pavement modeling. The workshop was a follow-on to a survey that the project team sent out to airports across the country, and the workshop attendees were primarily volunteers from survey participants.

The objectives of the workshop were to understand the challenges with airport asphalt pavement resilience, identify and measure the solutions and better understand the decision-making process, and discuss knowledge and research gaps.

Dr. Navneet Garg | navneet.garg@faa.gov

Dr. Navneet Garg and Dr. David Brill from FAA’s Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) Branch designed and presented a webinar focused on using a laboratory for characterizing new and green materials, advanced modeling techniques, and full-scale testing. The session, for 66 participants on March 28, 2024, covered ongoing research and development at the National Airport Pavement Research Test Facility (NAPTF), the National Airport Pavement & Materials Research Center (NAPMRC), and the NextGen Pavement Materials Laboratory. In particular, the specific challenges of future airport pavement design were addressed. Participants learned about FAARFIELD 2.1 software, the differences between sustainability and resiliency in pavements, and the sustainable pavement initiatives, such as Life Cycle Assessment, currently under research at the FAA Technical Center.   

Dr. Navneet Garg | Navneet.Garg@faa.gov
Dr. David Brill | David.Brill@faa.gov  

Jim Layton and Russ Gorman from the Airport Technology Research & Development (ATR) branch attended the Sustainable Aviation Energy Conference hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Grapevine, Texas, on April 1-3, 2024. The conference focused on the transition from current fuels to the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), electric power, and hydrogen fuel. Conferences such as this are critical to help inform ATR’s research focus and approach to driving sustainability.   

A core theme of the conference was the need to plan for the conversion to alternate fuels, especially the use of SAF in the near term. Layton attended a workshop on airport-enabling efforts and Gorman attended the alternate fueling infrastructure workshop.

Russ Gorman | William.R.Gorman@faa.gov
Jim Layton | James.Layton@faa.gov