Earlier this year, Women and Drones© continued its engagement with Florida International University (FIU) by participating in their 2025 Engineering, Aviation & Aerospace Industry Engagement Seminar. The seminar was hosted by Dr. Cheng-Yu Lai and Dr. Daniela Radu of FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing; both professors are also principal investigators of the NASA Student Apprenticeships in Aerospace Advanced Manufacturing (SA3M). This event gave dozens of students and faculty an opportunity to hear from key experts in the drone and broader Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry. The topics ranged from application of drones to insights on the latest in UAS airspace management testing and development, and included an overview of the AAM marketplace with real-world applications of drones. The seminar included a panel discussion focused on the workforce requirements to support this new industry and concluded with a workshop design challenge on innovative AAM solutions.
Day One
In her opening comments, Dr. Ines Triay, Interim Dean of FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing, described the place FIU has in supporting this new evolution of aviation. She noted that FIU is ranked number 46 among public universities and is committed to finding solutions in environmental science, infrastructure resiliency, health, cybersecurity, and automation. She explained that the College of Engineering and Computing is “one of the largest engineering schools in the country, with nearly 9,200 students.” She emphasized the future of the school by highlighting the upcoming completion of the Innovation Complex – a six-story facility that will dramatically increase their research capability in the areas of AI, advanced materials and manufacturing. In her view, this expansion allows the school to strengthen their partnership with NASA and the holistic aerospace industry.
For Dean Ines, the Industry Engagement Seminar was “…a wonderful opportunity to continue building on the strong foundation of innovation and partnership with the broader industry. By working together, we can drive the future of aerospace manufacturing, creating systems that will shape the next generation of technologies and contribute to national and global advancements.”
Sharon Rossmark, CEO of Women and Drones echoed those comments, “Women and Drones is excited to continue our collaboration with Florida International University in advancing the conversation around Advanced Air Mobility. By facilitating panel sessions with leading industry experts, we aim to bring real-world insights directly to the next generation of innovators. Engaging FIU’s engineering students through capstone projects not only bridges classroom learning with practical application, but also empowers them to envision – and help build – the future of flight. Together, we’re creating opportunities that inspire, educate, and connect talent with the rapidly evolving AAM ecosystem.”
Ms. Rossmark provided an introduction to the drone industry and its underlying technologies by pointing out the history of drones and continuous growth of the industry. Additionally, she provided seminar attendees insight into drone types and their respective applications. To that end, the presentation gave insight into the incredible diversity of use cases for unmanned aerial systems, from industrial inspection to high-end fashion modeling.
The next presentation took a deeper look into one of the foundational infrastructure technologies that supports current UAS and future AAM operations. Erin Roesler, Deputy Executive Director of Northern Plains UAS Test Site gave an insightful explanation of the necessary airspace management required by uncrewed vehicles. She then went on to describe the ongoing development of the North Plains UAS Test Site that is setting the groundwork for collaboration between the Federal Aviation Administration and industry partners to develop equipment, systems, rules and procedures to safely integrate UAS vehicles into the National Airspace. The test site includes facilities across North Dakota including Grand Forks AFB and GrandSKY UAS business park, Camp Grafton North Dakota National Guard Base with two ranges offering urban and rural operational scenarios, and numerous fixed-site facilities, mobile trailers, hardware and aircraft.
Perhaps most impressive was the picture of the continuing development of the VANTIS Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) UAS program. As Ms. Roesler described the system, it includes all the key infrastructure elements, hardware and airspace management protocols to support BVLOS UAS operations. In her estimation, the program is already informing the FAAs processes and future budgetary allocations to support the rapid inclusion of UAS into the National Air Space.
Ms. Sheila Bugbee made UAS operations real to the audience.As an FAA-Certified Remote Pilot and founder of Bugbee Dronography, LLC, she provided personal accounts of how she operated drones in support of several different operations. Her explanation of using drones to track and locate missing people in the northeast winter provided a tangible connection between technology and real life-or-death situations. However, it was the description of her response to the aftermath of Hurricane Milton that touched closest to home for the South Florida natives in attendance. Conducting immediate support for insurance claims on ceramic roofs throughout the impacted area, Sheila lived in her car while providing what would prove to be life-changing data for rebuilding after the catastrophic event.
Next, Sharon Rossmark moderated a panel discussion focused on workforce development and the necessary skills required for joining the drone and AAM industry. Joining her on the panel were Ms. Bugbee, Ms. Roesler and Mr. Bill Johnson, Founder, Single Seat Consulting LLC. The discussion reviewed the necessary steps in gaining an FAA Part 107 compliant drone pilot license, and the entrepreneurial skills to start a drone-based company. Mr. Johnson noted the opportunities in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence fields as the AAM industry expands to incorporate autonomous air vehicles. The panel concluded with questions and answers from the students in the audience.
Day Two
The second day of the seminar moved into the topic of Advanced Air Mobility. Mr. Johnson provided an executive summary of the industry, explaining the driving forces underpinning the AAM movement, the general sub-markets and their associated array of new design vehicles, and the key technologies underpinning the feasibility of the industry. To balance the enthusiasm associated with this exciting new aviation market, he highlighted the challenges in areas like security, aircraft government certification, and public opinion. He rounded out the discussion with insight into the broad and varied employment opportunities currently available in this start-up rich industry such as HV battery, magnetic propulsion, aerodynamics, systems design and flight test engineers, along with business and supply chain management positions.
Mr. Johnson provided a capstone event for the AAM session with a design challenge using scenarios in both the urban air mobility (UAM) and regional air mobility (RAM) environments. To give the students a feeling of the reality of such decisions, the scenarios were set in Miami’s metropolitan area for the UAM exercise and the Florida peninsula for the RAM scenario. Groups of three or four students teamed together to decide on the best design from a set of four different current AAM company designs for each scenario. The teams explained their choices and then the group reviewed what other pieces of data, beyond what was given, would have improved, and perhaps changed, their decision.
The seminar garnered overwhelmingly positive feedback from the attending students and faculty. The event engaged the audience with both relevant and interesting topics directly applicable to the FIU School of Engineering and Computing curriculum. The key areas of drone application, future infrastructure requirements and design considerations for AAM aircraft provided insight into an exciting new chapter in aviation.
The seminar demonstrated Women and Drones power as both a networking agent and voice for emerging aviation. For the third year, FIU coordinated with Women and Drones to identify speakers and content of the Industry Engagement Seminar. With their extensive membership and focus on the new aviation frontiers, Women and Drones provided insightful presentations and experts in the drone and AAM industries. And that collaboration will likely continue.
Ms. Rossmark is clear in her vision, “Our continued partnership with FIU reflects our shared belief that Advanced Air Mobility will redefine the future of flight and transportation. Such collaboration fosters a community where knowledge flows freely, ideas take flight, and emerging talent gains the confidence to lead in this rapidly evolving field. Women and Drones plans to support FIU in this noble endeavor far into the future.”
