University Letter

UND's faculty and staff newsletter

UND’s experts, President Armacost to appear at 14th Annual UAS Summit & Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 28

 This year’s UAS Summit & Expo will feature multiple speakers and panelists from the University of North Dakota during virtual events on Wednesday, Oct. 28, as part of the annual two-day conference.

President Andy Armacost will help open the dialogue around unmanned aerial systems with an address at 9 a.m. highlighting UND’s academic programs, research and expertise in matters of UAS and autonomy.

Mark Askelson, executive director of the UND Research Institute for Autonomous Systems, and Paul Snyder, director of UND’s UAS program, will take part in various panels that day addressing research and education.

Now in its 14th year, the North Dakota-based UAS Summit & Expo has become a yearly major event for UAS experts from around the world. The event is produced by UAS Magazine and BBI International, both of Grand Forks, N.D.

UND’s experts are part of a line-up that will include North Dakota’s two U.S. senators, senior U.S. Air Force officials and leaders of unmanned aviation’s private sector. Appearing alongside Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) will be Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency. Both Cramer and Tournear recently visited UND to discuss the role that UND and its surrounding UAS ecosystem could play in developing a national space defense system.

Among the key topics for the Summit are airspace integration, beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations and North Dakota’s progress in both areas.

On Thursday, Oct. 29, Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford will deliver a 9 a.m. keynote presentation on behalf of the North Dakota Governor’s Office.

A full agenda for the virtual events can be found on the UAS Summit & Expo website.

Due to COVID-19, all of the 14th Annual UAS Summit & Expo’s panels and presentations will be held online and livestreamed for registered attendees. The stream will also be broadcasted in the main concourse at UND’s Robin Hall.