MSU celebrates UAS research nod

STARKVILLE – Researchers at Mississippi State University sent a small, 3-pound Precision Hawk Lancaster 3 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) soaring above Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park in a celebration June 5 of the Federal Aviation Administration's selecting MSU's Raspet Research Lab as the site for its Center of Excellence for UAS Research. As part of that initiative, MSU will lead a team of 21 universities in a research alliance to develop unmanned aircraft systems' capabilities for the future. David Shaw, VP for Research & Economic Development, said drone research is "boundless" with practical applications ; and that Raspet would help define UAVs' place in the national airspace and assist lawmakers in developing policies to allow drones and conventional manned aircraft to co-exist safely. Newly -appointed Mississippi Development Authority director Glenn McCullough said hundreds of Mississippi companies – like Aurora and Stark Aerospace - are already developing aerial technology and could immediately benefit from the MSU-led research. (Columbus Dispatch 06/06/15)