Friday Focus: Thoughts on beyond line of sight

*** UPDATE (Aug. 7, 2023) The groundbreaking ceremony in Nenana has been canceled due to wildfire activity in the area ***

Aug. 4, 2023

— Nettie La Belle-Hamer, vice chancellor for research

For those of us dancing in school gyms in the early 1980’s, Love is in the Air is a familiar tune. As American Bandstand would say – nice rhythm, easy to dance to. For those of us at UAF in 2023, we could morph that into Drones are in the Air, maybe do a remix to zhuzh it up. This new song, though, will not be a one-hit wonder if Cathy Cahill and the ACUASI band have anything to say about it!

ACUASI has been around for over 20 years but for the last few years has really taken off (pun intended) with the growing interest in the state of Alaska in developing a drone economy. This is a heavy lift, but the team is all in. And, with the additional funding for economic development from the Governor, tremendous progress has been made. You can come see for yourself at the ground breaking ceremony on Aug. 7 for the ACUASI hangar to be built at the Nenana Municipal Airport.

Flying beyond line of sight is central to the development of a drone economy so it is prominent in all the discussions surrounding this concept. But, what is the concept and what does it mean? In its simplest form, a drone economy is an economic ecosystem that revolves around the use of drones. This could include delivery systems, emergency services, and other commercial applications valuable for Alaska, in addition to the research and development opportunities here at UAF. To enable this moving forward and to create the jobs and services it could mean for our state, the FAA and UAF are working together to develop the technology and expertise necessary to allow us to operate drones out of visual contact with their pilot on the ground. This has me thinking about beyond line of sight in a more general way and its importance to our society.

While flying drones beyond line of sight poses unique challenges and requires several technological, regulatory, and safety measures to be in place, there is a clear analogy in my mind with human development. When we are born, humans are pretty helpless compared to many other mammals and we are rarely beyond the line of sight of our parents. As we grow in capability and our parents have the rules in place for our safety and their sanity, the trust is built for us to go beyond their line of sight. Our first day of school, our first time behind the wheel of a car, our first unaccompanied flight on an airline all lead up to moving out of our parent’s house. All are significant events in not only our lives, but in the lives of our parents. And, then later, in the lives of our children as the circle of life continues.

Coming to UAF was an important step for your growth, for your family, and for those of us here in UAF faculty and staff. We are all part of the university ecosystem and your success is our success. So we work hard to modernize the experience for students, strengthen our position as global leaders in Alaska Native and Indigenous programs, and transform UAF's intellectual property development and commercialization enterprise, all while embracing and growing a culture of respect, diversity, inclusion and caring. And we are pouring the coals to achieve R1 status as the Tier 1 research university for Alaska. All this for you to have the experience of a lifetime as you learn to be your best self going forward, way beyond the line of sight, independent and strong.

Wait – did I just call you (us) drones?! Well, not really what I meant. Proof that the metaphor can sometimes extend a little too far beyond the line of sight and needs to be pulled back. 

The point is that the goal for both humans, and drones, to be contributing members of society, we need to have in place the support systems, technology, safety, and communications to ensure safe flight. Thanks to the work by the FAA, the State of Alaska, and ACUASI here at UAF, we are moving closer to that goal for drones. Once we have that, we will see the drone economy take off. 

In the meantime, we are ready to help you on your personal journey. You are at the right place at the right time to be a part of history in the making. It’s about you. You belong here. With a UAF experience in your back pocket and a newly minted degree in your hand, the sky’s the limit!

Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF's leadership team every week.