Drone Lab
Prior GES students Sean Robison and Nicholas Hager (holding the remote) testing out one of the drones. Photo by Meliss Arteaga.
The GES Department houses a large fleet of quadcopter and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aka drones. The fleet is used to support the work of our various faculty in projects ranging from wildfire risk and recovery to wetland mapping. Student working in the drone lab also have the opportunity to learn about and complete the process of FAA drone pilot certification.
The heat island study at White Mountain Research Center aims to identify which land cover types retain heat in order to plant trees and ground cover in a way to reduce heat buildup. Photo by Sean Robison.
The origins of our fleet can be traced to the hard work of Dr. Amalie Orme and her students who were (and are) involved in the GAERG program within the department.