The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) is sponsoring the University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs for U.S.-based undergraduate and/or graduate students to design innovative solutions that address airport issues and constraints to enhance the management, safety, capacity and efficiency of the nation’s airports.

Winning design proposals receive cash awards, and first place winners present their work at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and at a professional conference relating to their work. The competition also provides students with exposure to aviation and airport-related careers.

Students are invited to propose design solutions addressing airport needs in the following broad challenge areas:

• Airport Operation and Maintenance
• Runway Safety/Runway Incursions/Runway Excursions
• Airport Environmental Interactions
• Airport Management and Planning

 

Follow the design submission guidelines prior to submitting an entry. Design submissions will be accepted from November 2, 2018 through April 29, 2019.

Guidelines for the 2018 – 2019 academic year competition are available at .

Additional information about the program can be found at .

The Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) recently selected winners for its University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs. The prestigious competition encourages students to design innovative and practical solutions to challenges at our nation’s airports. Teams of students from the Florida Institute of Technology, University of Rhode Island, and Purdue University took home first place prizes in different technical challenge areas.

Photograph above: A team of students at Purdue University, advised by Dr. Mary Johnson, center, won first place in the Airport Operation and Maintenance challenge area.

Read the press release

Visit the ACRP Design Competition to learn more about the program.