IRISS recently participated in preliminary field tests for the project “Air Quality with UAS Integration and Laboratory Analysis” (AQUILA), a collaboration led by RECUV graduate research assistant Robert Sasse and Mechanical Engineering graduate research assistant Jonathan Silberstein. The goal of AQUILA is to examine air quality near busy highways by measuring aerosols and gas phase pollutants associated with automobiles.
The current flight tests are part of a feasibility study to determine requirements for combining airborne measurements from the Super RAAVEN with air-quality instruments mounted on the 50-ft mast of the MURC. Silberstein and Sasse will use the data from the 30 November campaign to write a science paper and work with their advisors, Professors Mike Hannigan (Mechanical Engineering) and Brian Argrow (RECUV), to develop a proposal that includes funding for a broader field campaign.