In the Spotlight

The Airport Emerging Technology R&D Section, alongside General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., collaborated with the City of New York Police Department (NYPD) Technical Assistance Response Unit to evaluate the effectiveness of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) within the Drone in a Box program, focusing on enhancing airport safety. This partnership, particularly relevant to LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, aims to assess the viability of drones for various applications, fostering ongoing collaboration for future research.

Jim Layton | ANG-E26

A Paper entitled “Characterization of Fatigue Cracking Performance of Asphalt Mixes at the Federal Aviation Administration’s National Airport Pavement Materials Research Center’s Accelerated Loading Facility” by Thomas Bennert, Dario Batioja-Alvarez, Navneet Garg, Christopher Ericson, and Aarya Chaudhari was published in the journal of the Transportation Research Board.

Navneet Garg | ANG-E262

Dr. Navneet Garg, from the Airport Pavement Section and Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers has been selected to receive the Carl L. Monismith Lecture on Pavement Engineering. The Lecture is awarded annually for outstanding research contributions in Pavement Engineering and Dr. Garg was selected, in part, for his work on advanced testing, development of innovative materials and systems, and sustainability tools as well as his exemplary leadership, mentoring, and service advancing the profession. The Lecture will be awarded at the ASME Geo-Congress in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 9-12, 2026.

Jim Layton | ANG-E26

The Airport Pavement R&D section is collaborating with the Airport Asphalt Pavement Technology Program on a project to evaluate a recycled pavement technology called Cold Central Plant Recycling (CCPR) for airport use. This method involves milling old asphalt pavement and processing it in a plant without applying heat, unlike traditional asphalt methods. During CCPR, a new liquid asphalt binder and a small amount of cement are added before the materials are reapplied to the roadway or runway. The project team includes pavement experts from the University of California, Davis, the National Asphalt Pavement Association, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and paving contractor Allan Myers Inc. The CCPR pavement will be installed at the National Airport Pavement Materials Research Center, where the FAA will use the Heavy Vehicle Simulator for Airfields to simulate aircraft wheel loads on the pavement.

Jim Layton 

Personnel from the Emerging Technologies R&D Section assisted Office of Airports Safety and Standards, Emerging Entrants Division, AAS-200, by providing content for the Emerging Entrants Bulletin 25-02, Testing and Demonstrating Autonomous Ground Vehicle Systems (AGVS) at Federally Obligated Airports, published May 21, 2025.

Jim Layton, ANG-E26