Best Student Paper Competition (Chaired by Dr. Lance Sherry, George Mason University)

Technology

• 1st Place: Jindong Xie, Lin Bai, Jun Zhang, Beihang University, Beijing, China; “Dual Priority SDMA in Aeronautical Communications”
• Honorable Mention: Asaad Kaadan, Dayong Zhou, Hazem H. Refai, Peter G. LoPresti, University of Oklahoma; “Modeling of Aerial-to-Aerial Short-Distance Free-Space Optical Links”

Operations and Analysis

• 1st Place: Christian Hanses, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Braunschweig, Germany; “An Initial Safety Concept for Segmented Independent Parallel Approaches”
• Honorable Mention: Tao Li, Virginia Tech; “Modeling the Impact of Fuel Prices on the Utilization of Piston Engine Aircraft”

Best Professional Paper Competition (Chaired by Mr. Thomas Redling, L-3 Communications, ComCept Division)

• 1st Place: Timothy P. Waldron and Andrew T. Ford, The Saab Sensis Corporation, East Syracuse, NY; and Sherry Borener, FAA Office of Aviation Safety, Washington, DC; “Quantifying Collision Potential in Airport Surface Movement”
• 2nd Place: Ralf H. Mayer, Matthew R. Pollock, Jonathan T. Schwalbe, Graham K. Glover, Rémi L. Gottheil, and Dennis J. Zondervan, Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA; “Toward a Performance-Based NAS: Airports for Potential Application Of PBN-Enabled Departure Separation Standards”
• 3rd Place: David W. Matolak and Ruoyu Sun, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; “Air-Ground Channel Measurements & Modeling for UAS”

This article originally appears at Best Paper Competition Winners Announced for ICNS 2013, on the ICNS Conference website.

• Tuesday: “Next Generation Airspace Developments,” chaired by Steve Bradford, Chief Scientist for Architecture and NextGen Development, FAA; and Bo Redeborn, Principal Director ATM, EUROCONTROL
• Wednesday: “UAS in the NAS,” chaired by by Ed Waggoner, Program Director, Integrated Systems Research Program, NASA; and Michael Standar, Chief Strategies and External Relations, SESAR Joint Undertaking
• Thursday, and more current than printed program: “Airport Surface Movement in the NextGen Era,” chaired by Paul Planzer, Manger of Air Traffic Control Programs, ATCA

Technical Sessions

• View the final updated Technical Session Agenda

This article originally appears at View the Final 2013 Agendas, on the ICNS Conference website.

John R. Moore, General Conference Chair, 2013 ICNS

I welcome you to the 13th annual Integrated Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (ICNS) Conference.

This year’s conference will provide you with a better understanding of domestic and international Communication / Navigation / Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) programs, implementation strategies, standards development, research, and ICNS technologies. These capabilities enable the significant improvements in safety and airspace efficiency envisaged by programs such as NextGen in the United States and the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) initiative.

Our theme this year is “Diverse Aircraft in a Common Sky: ICNS Leads the Way.” Since the beginning of powered flight over a century ago, we’ve seen a continued infusion of new aircraft capabilities, technologies and operational intents that have driven continuous evolution of our airspace systems to permit the continued safe and efficient operations for all participating traffic. Several examples of major disruptive technologies that come to mind include introduction of turbojet engines, the move from terrestrial to satellite based systems and more recently the move toward Trajectory Based Operations.

We will take a focused look at the emergence of a new family of diverse aircraft that present many new challenges to airspace planners. Some call them “Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS),” and others “Remotely Piloted Aircraft” (RPA), yet others “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” (UAV), and of course in the popular press one can’t miss the term “drones.” Whatever one calls them, these new aircraft offer a great variety of new operational capabilities and come in a wide range of sizes, configurations and performance capabilities.

Our general format is consistent with past years, and will be familiar to returning participants. Each day begins with a plenary session which will contain a mix of keynote speakers and moderator-lead panels. The morning plenary sessions are complemented by several parallel technical sessions in the afternoons on specific ICNS topics.

Of particular note, we have two distinguished Keynote Speakers this year: 

• Pam Whitley, Assistant Administrator for NextGen (A), FAA
• Jim Williams, Program Executive, UAS Integration Office, FAA

In the evenings we have a series of receptions and events provided by our exhibitors. Mike Harrison has again returned to ICNS and has prepared a delightful and thought-provoking presentation for Tuesday evening titled “Droning on About UAVs.” Wednesday evening we will again be hosted to our annual entertainment event by our exhibitors, where visiting their booths during the breaks might well pay off for you!

I am glad you chose to join us this year at ICNS, and I invite you to take advantage of numerous opportunities to network with your colleagues during our morning breakfasts, breaks, lunches, and evening social events. Learn from the program; renew old acquaintances; make new connections.

John R. Moore
General Conference Chair, 2013 ICNS

This article originally appears at Welcome to ICNS 2013, on the ICNS Conference website.

Updated: Final Version Posted 11/16/2013

The 2013 Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance (ICNS) Conference addresses long-term research and development as well as current implementation of integrated CNS technologies. These capabilities enable the significant improvements in safety and airspace efficiency envisaged by programs such as NextGen in the United States and the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) initiative.

This conference will provide an understanding of domestic and international Communication / Navigation / Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) programs, implementation strategies, standards development, research, and ICNS technologies. As the second decade of ICNS continues, we focus on the relationship between next generation air traffic management and the enabling communications, navigation and surveillance infrastructure that will build the bridge between CNS and ATM.

Morning Plenary Sessions

Each day begins with a plenary session to set the stage for the day’s technical talks.

• On Tuesday, April 23, we kick off the conference with a keynote address and consequent presentations on the latest plans and activities of the US’s NextGen Program and Europe’s SESAR Program.
• On Wednesday, April 24, we examine the emergence of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, their impact on the aviation, and what’s being done to enable integration of UAS into national and global airspace.
• The third plenary on Thursday, April 26, will focus on operational perspectives with presentations from the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) community. On Thursday we will also have a final plenary session to review the various topics this ICNS Conference that address the conference theme: Diverse Aircraft in a Common Sky – ICNS Leads the Way. This will serve to both summarize the conference and look forward to the challenges and work ahead to make today’s visions into tomorrow’s realities.

Afternoon Technical Sessions

The plenary sessions are complemented by several parallel sessions in the afternoons on specific ICNS topics. For these technical sessions, papers and presentations are requested along the key topical areas listed below.

• CNS System Architectures and Interfaces
• Standards and V&V
• Performance Based Navigation
• Safe and Secure Air Transportation System
• Performance-Based ATM
• Trajectory Based Operations
• Air/Ground Integration
• Global Military Access
• Future Communications
• Aviation Spectrum and Spectrum Management
• Surveillance and Situational Awareness
• Weather Sensors and Weather Data Distribution.
• Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the NAS
• Network Centric Operations
• Improved Environmental Performance
• Aircraft/Airline Operations for NextGen
• Federal Aviation Incentives and/or Mandates
• Mixed Equipage in NextGen
• Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis
• Modular CNS Avionics

Exhibits

ICNS 2013 invites exhibits and product demonstrations by representatives of CNS-related industries and organizations. Participating as an exhibitor in the conference allows close-up interaction with customers and key policy decision makers to help move your research and products closer to daily operations.

Student & Professional Best Paper Competition

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and Digital Avionics Technical Committee (DATC) is sponsoring a student paper competition for the 2013 ICNS. Active students and professionals within two years of graduation are eligible for ICNS Student Best Paper honorarium awards. Papers eligible for these awards must be tagged as “Student” when submitted, and the first author listed on the paper must be a student. For the non-student papers, we will also conduct a Best Professional Paper competition, with trophies awarded for the first, second, and third place papers. All papers submitted by the final paper due date listed below will be considered.

Abstract Submission

Authors are invited to submit abstracts of no more than 750 words by January 31, 2013 (extended to February 15) on any of the topics listed above through the online ICNS Abstract Submission Form.

Follow-up Deadlines

• Updated: March 1, 2013: Notification of acceptance of papers/presentations
• Updated: April 1, 2013: Final papers due
• April 5, 2013: Presenters must be registered
• Updated: April 15, 2013: Conference presentations due

This article originally appears at Call for Participation 2013, on the ICNS Conference website.

The video from Mike Harrison’s Keynote, “Air Travel: From Luxury to Lemmings,” is now available.

Think about what it’s like to fly now: no meals, pay for carry-ons, pat downs, 3 ounce liquids, disappearing leg room. How did it come to this? Believe it or not, flying used to be exciting, a luxury, an adventure that made your friends jealous! Well, it’s sure not that way anymore!

Mike Harrison takes an entertaining look at how we progressed from the early days of luxurious air travel to a barely tolerable endurance run where, like lemmings, we simply follow the throngs and accept whatever indignities are thrown our way.

On Tuesday evening, April 24 at the 2012 ICNS Conference Exhibitors Reception, Mike Harrison, Aviation Management Associates, gave the keynote address, “Air Travel: From Luxury to Lemmings.” The conference was held at the Westin Washington Dulles Airport, Herndon, Virginia.

This is Mr. Harrison’s second keynote at the ICNS Conference. In 2011, he presented, “From Creation of the NAS to Creation of Next Gen — Born Again.”

This article originally appears at Video Available from ICNS 2012 Keynote: “Air Travel: From Luxury to Lemmings,” by Mike Harrison, on the ICNS Conference website.

Walid Shawbaki

Thanks to all who completed our 2012 ICNS Conference survey. Based on a random drawing of eligible survey participants, the 2012 ICNS Conference survey prize winner is Walid Shawbaki. He wins the brand new Amazon Kindle Touch.

Shawbaki is Chief Engineer and a program engineer at L-3 Communications, leading small and large aircraft avionics modification projects including modernization of aircraft to meet CNS/ATM requirements including future NEXGEN and SEASAR. He is involved in R&D projects for various mission, C4ISR, aircraft modernizations. He has also orked as technical staff systems engineer at General Dynamics C4ISR –Battle Management Systems Command (BSMD), staff scientist at Honeywell Labs involved in CNS, new radio technologies, and new aircraft avionics systems design. He’s also worked as a principal systems engineer at Rockwell Collins involved in miss ionization of aircraft as a lead architect engineer for aircraft modernization programs and meeting compliance with CNS/ATM requirements.

Shawbaki is also an adjunct professor with University of Maryland University colleges teaching telecommunication and cyber security courses for graduate students.

Post Doctorate in Cyber Security from University of Maryland University College, Ph.D. in Computer engineering, Certificate in Information Assurance (IA), and Master in Systems Engineering all from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. August 2001. Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, BS in Aerospace Engineering and BS in Electrical Engineering both from North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

This article originally appears at Congratulations to Our 2012 ICNS Conference Survey Contest Winner, on the ICNS Conference website.

Tom Redling, Ben Levy

Dear 12th ICNS attendees and supporters,

Thank you for your attendance at this year’s 12th Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (ICNS) conference in Herndon, VA this year. It is your continued attendance support of this important and focused conference and others like it that keeps our international CNS/ATM family close. I was especially impressed with the international attendance, including but not limited to our Plenary Speakers and Technical Presenters. The ICNS Conference continues to be one of my best networking tools and gives me an annual opportunity to refresh my knowledge on the state-of-the-art in airborne CNS systems and the ground-based ATM systems that they integrate with. This year I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with many of my international counterparts, which gave me a better understanding of the global environment in which we all operate.

In order to continue this legacy of global cooperation, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you for the 13th Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (ICNS) conference, which will again be held in Herndon, VA at the same venue on 23-24 April 2013. Our website will be updated as more details become available.

In closing I, would like to thank the Conference Committee, volunteers, invited Plenary Speakers, authors, presenters, sponsors, exhibitors, attendees, and of course, the hospitality of our team at the Westin Dulles Hotel for making the 12th ICNS a memorable experience and I look forward to seeing each of you next year.

Best Regards,

Tom Redling
ICNS 2012 Conference General Chair

Select photos from ICNS 2012

This article originally appears at Thanks for a Great 2012 ICNS Conference!, on the ICNS Conference website.

Tom Redling, 2012 ICNS General Chair

We’re pleased you can attend this 12th edition of the ICNS Conference, Bridging CNS and ATM. During the past 11 years since its inception, the ICNS conference has fostered information exchange, collaboration and education for the CNS/ATM community. New research, development and implementation programs have been described, discussed and advanced. The progress of ongoing programs will be presented and new ideas will be explored in depth. Progress in the “integration” part of ICNS will be discussed through topics that include but are not limited to datalink communications, ADS-B, SWIM, and aviation spectrum re-allocations.

As we continue the second decade of ICNS, we focus on the relationship between next generation air traffic management and the enabling communications, navigation and surveillance infrastructure that will build the bridge between CNS and ATM. We sincerely hope that you enjoy the upcoming three days and derive valuable professional benefits from our popular format of morning plenary sessions and afternoon technical tracks, providing a broad range of experiences.

This year, our goal is to explore in depth the tight coupling between the terrestrial-based Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems and the airborne Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance Systems that make the evolution of NextGen possible. Topics will range from high level air transportation system policy through cutting-edge research in algorithms and advanced electronic systems.

For this year’s ICNS, we have again prepared for you three exciting plenary sessions in the mornings. Our first plenary on Tuesday is entitled “Leading NextGen Development Through Collaboration” and will be led off by a keynote address by Chris Metts, Vice President of the Program Management Organization at the FAA.

The Wednesday plenary bridges the international community by exploring “Harmonization between NextGen & SESAR” from the perspective of both American and European experts.

At the Thursday plenary, the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) has put together a program that will explore Cyber Threats, including Advanced Persistent Threats and an operational view on automation evolution and dependencies.

Each day, the morning plenary sessions are followed by technical tracks in the afternoon. Papers written by people from industry, academia, and research organizations are presented that propose approaches on how to bridge CNS and ATM from a technical point of view.

We invite you to take advantage of numerous opportunities to network with your colleagues during our morning breakfasts, breaks, lunches, and evening social events. We also invite you to relax and have fun at our evening events.

On Tuesday evening during our evening reception, Mike Harrison will reprise his talk last year with another interesting piece on aviation history. Also, based on its popular demand, Casino Night is returning on Wednesday evening with some updates to make it an even better experience this year. We hope that you will take the time to enjoy both of these events.

Let’s get out there and participate!

Tom Redling
2012 ICNS Conference General Chair

This article originally appears at Welcome to ICNS 2012: Bridging CNS and ATM, on the ICNS Conference website.

As Vice President of the PMO, Metts is responsible for ensuring the integration and coordination of approximately 150 capital acquisition programs, including those that support the FAA’s transition to NextGen.

Metts served as acting Vice President of En Route and Oceanic Services, where he led a workforce of more than 9,000 employees at 23 facilities nationwide. Metts also served as Director of Operations for the Western En Route and Oceanic Service Area from 2008-2011.

Metts’ international assignments included Director of the FAA’s Asia Pacific Office in Singapore, Senior FAA Representative to the Pacific Rim, Japan, and to North Asia, China. Prior to overseas assignments, Metts served as Manager of Air Traffic’s En Route Operations and Procedures Branch, FAA headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Metts joined the FAA in 1984 as an Air Traffic Control Specialist in Miami.

This article originally appears at Christopher Metts, VP of FAA Program Management, to Deliver Tuesday Plenary Keynote, on the ICNS Conference website.

Hotel Reservation Rate Increases After March 30

The current ICNS hotel rate is $159 per night (plus taxes), the area government per diem rate. After this Friday, March 30, when the ICNS room block expires, the rate goes up to $220 per night (plus taxes).

• Make your hotel reservations for the 2012 ICNS Conference online or by phone here.

Conference Registration

Registration is open for the 2012 ICNS Conference. Presenters need to register by April 6th.

• Register online now

Authors and Presenters

• Paper Submission Deadline: Friday, March 30
• Presentation Submission Deadline: Friday, April 6

• View more information here for Authors & Presenters

Abstracts Selected for ICNS 2012

Abstracts have been selected and assigned to their sessions, and you may now view them online at the 2012 ICNS Agenda.

• View the 2012 agenda now

This article originally appears at Deadlines Fast Approaching, View the Abstracts Selected for the 2012 ICNS, on the ICNS Conference website.