Vlad Popescu is the recipient of the William T. Piper, Sr. Graduate Award.  The Piper Award is sponsored by endowments of the W.T. Piper, Sr. Foundation in the name of William T. Piper, Sr., the founder and first president of Piper Aircraft Corporation.  Also supported by AIAA's General Aviation Systems Technical Committee and the AIAA Foundation, the award is presented to a student actively participating in reserach endeavors in General Aviation at the graduate level.

Vlad was presented with the award for his work regarding airspace safety and the study of collision avoidance systems and will be presented in January 2013 during the 51st Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Grapevine, TX.

Vlad's research is a development of work for a project led by Dr. Amy Pritchett supported by a Cooperative Agreement with the FAA and fitting within the context of his thesis, "A Modular Process for the Optimal Design of Airspace Structures".  The unique contribution of the work is an approach to airspace design around the triad of safety, demand and taskload.  Vlad is advised by Dr. Karen Feigh.

To read more about Vlad Popescu and his research click here.