Cultivating Leaders Through Research
At the Prescott Campus, research is an opportunity for you to engage in real-world problem-solving from day one. Our faculty and students collaborate on cutting-edge projects in aerospace, engineering and technology, tackling challenges in aviation, space exploration, cybersecurity, uncrewed systems and more.
We take pride in fostering a culture of research excellence, where undergraduate students gain hands-on experience, work alongside expert mentors and make meaningful contributions to their fields.
Undergraduate Research Institute
The Undergraduate Research Institute (URI) promotes research, scholarly and creative activities at the undergraduate level. By enhancing critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills, the URI helps prepare Embry-Riddle students to contribute as productive individuals, employees and citizens.
We facilitate interactions with industry and community partners as students build their professional network. URI is university-wide and invites students and faculty from all disciplines to participate.
Undergraduate research at the Prescott Campus gives you the opportunity to:
- Work one-on-one with faculty mentors.
- Participate in workshops in Ethics & Professionalism, Presentations, Scholarships and Fellowships.
- Share your findings at the Embry-Riddle Undergraduate Symposium, Embry-Riddle Discovery Day, Embry-Riddle outreach events and external conferences.
URI Discovery Day is our celebration of undergraduate research and scholarship and is linked to our Preview Day events. From aviation to engineering, security and intelligence to physics and astronomy, our URI Discovery poster session offers a wealth of knowledge and discovery for everyone.
The URI provides more than $100,000 annually in funding for student research and development, scholarly and creative and competition-based grants.
Our Eagle Prize (or E-Prize) Grants fund teams of students as they develop content, attend regional, national or international competitions and implement new competitions.
Our Ignite Grants fund individuals or teams of students to conduct research, scholarly or creative projects, with a focus on presenting their work at professional conferences and publishing in scholarly and industry journals.
We also provide small Travel Grants for students to present their work at conferences. We have both academic term and summer term funding cycles, and a team of dedicated faculty and staff mentors committed to assisting students with their projects.
NASA Space Grant Program
The ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Prescott Campus Space Grant (Embry-Riddle-PC AZSG) Program is a part of the .
The Embry-Riddle-PC AZ SG program encompasses the Arizona Space Grant goal: To recruit and train professionals, especially women and underrepresented minorities, for careers in aerospace science, technology and allied fields.
We do this by providing research opportunities aligning with : Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD), Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD), Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
The Embry-Riddle-PC AZ SG program includes two components:
The Undergraduate Research Internship Program
The Undergraduate Research Internship Program is a competitive program in which students work with a faculty mentor on an individual or team research project.
- Research calls conducted during academic and summer terms.
Research Infrastructure Projects
Ongoing research infrastructure projects are focused on core areas of research at Embry-Riddle aligned with NASA priorities. These include:
- Aerospace STEM Challenges to Educate New Discoverers (ASCEND): Student teams from across the state design and build small payloads for launch from high-altitude weather balloons. Teams measure various atmospheric parameters as a function of altitude up to about 100,000 feet and some obtain a series of timed images of the Earth throughout the balloon's ascent to characterize surface features, cloud structure and the Earth's curvature.
- EagleSat Lab: The EagleSat Lab is a research and design lab for the EagleSat space grant project. The EagleSat Lab is located in Building 76 (STEM Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium), Room 127, and is equipped with an ISO 8 clean room, a deep-space-rated vacuum chamber and electrical test, and measurement equipment. The team is currently working on EaglSat-2, with a payload designed to analyze the degradation of current consumer memory and data devices.
The Steering Committee includes:
- Dr. Elliott Bryner, Associate Director & Department Chair and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- Dr. Anne Boettcher, Associate Director and Assistant Dean of Research
- Dr. Ron Madler, Professor of Aerospace Engineering
- Dr. Matt Pavlina, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Streaming From Space: Eagles Capture Far-Out Footage — In November 2021, the ASCEND team sent its first payload of the year to the upper atmosphere.
Space Grant Projects
AZ Space Grant Research interns come from all colleges at the Prescott Campus and work on a diversity of aspects that align with and support NASA's mission to "Drive advances in science, technology, aeronautics and space exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality and stewardship of Earth.”
Delve into some stories shared by research interns about their Space Grant projects:
This research examines ways to improve the retention of female students in engineering programs at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ. By analyzing interviews from an introductory engineering course using technical communication methods, researchers developed an educational intervention to address challenges faced by marginalized students. Results indicated that intentional team placement fostered a greater sense of belonging, suggesting a link between group dynamics and student retention.
This study explores how wing sweep affects aerodynamics at low Reynolds numbers, relevant for small-scale drones like uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and micro air vehicles (MAVs). Researchers tested low aspect ratio wings with sweep angles from 0 to 45 degrees at Reynolds numbers between 40,000 and 80,000. Results showed that increased sweep improved efficiency by enhancing the lift-to-drag ratio and reducing drag but also lowered the lift curve slope. These findings contribute to better drone wing designs for improved performance at low speeds.
Research Members
Kylee Bennett, Aerospace Engineering - May 2024
Hunter Nudson, Aerospace Engineering - May 2024
Davy Stanfield Brown, Aerospace Engineering - May 2024
Mentor
Dr. Lance W. Traub, College of Engineering
News and Stories
Related Resources
Contact Us
Associate Director & Department Chair and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Director and Assistant Dean of Research
3700 Willow Creek Rd.
Prescott, AZ 86301