Sens. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) have said the National Science Foundation has awarded $899,477 in funds to the Old Dominion University Research Foundation to help Virginia colleges develop courses that seek to advance research and use of unmanned aerial systems.
Warner’s office said in a July 20 press release the NSF award also aims to help UAS operations technicians gain skills in the areas of geospatial exploration, acquisition and analysis.
The funds from NSF will support curriculum development, faculty mentorship and professional development initiatives as well as the three-year Geospatial Technician Education-Unmanned Aircraft Systems project.
GeoTEd-UAS plans to assist two community college partners in the development of academic courses for drone technicians and carry out activities such as leadership development workshops and skills and workforce analysis.
The Virginia Space Grant Consortium collaborates with Virginia Tech, Thomas Nelson Community College, Virginia Community College System and Mountain Empire Community College on the GeoTED-UAS project.