Congratulations to graduate students Huang Feng and Pengli Zhao on their winning submission to the Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs. “Design the Allocation of External Alternative Aircraft Taxiing System at Airports” was selected as the first-place winner in the “Airport Operation and Maintenance” design challenge category.
The project was awarded first place due to its model and simulation of external tugs to replace engine-powered taxiing. The design also offered the potential for cost savings as well as a reduction of jet fuel consumption and associated emissions.
Supervised by Yu Zhang, Ph.D., and Joseph Post, Huang and Zhao performed experiments using information from the Tampa International Airport (TPA) with assistance from Jeff Siddle and Adam Bouchard.
The team will be honored on July 20, 2022, in Washington, DC, at The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
