Washington, D.C. – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is excited to announce the winning teams of the 2023 FAA Data Challenge. Nine finalist university teams participated in the two-day culminating Forum June 21-22, 2023, at the MITRE McLean campus. This FAA Data Challenge focused on the use of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and advanced analytics to explore aviation-related problems and opportunities. AI/ML is rapidly transforming many industries including aviation. Finalist teams were challenged to provide solutions that will push the boundary and introduce novel approaches to aviation problems as the FAA moves further towards an info-centric National Airspace System (NAS).

Following evaluation of each team’s technical paper, presentation to the Challenge Steering Committee and other FAA and industry representatives, and poster session discussions, three teams were named winners of the 2023 FAA Data Challenge:

$25,000 Overall Winner
Georgia Institute of Technology
“A Deep Learning Approach Using Social Media Data to Estimate Ground Risk
of UAS in Urban Areas”
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Dimitri Mavris and Dr. Michael Balachanos
Team Member: Jeffrey Pattison

$10,000 Second Place (Tie)
Duke University
“An Optimization of Airport Surface Congestion to Minimize Taxi Times”
Advisor: Dr. Mark Borsuk
Team Member: Matthew Brune

George Mason University
“Proposal for a Modernized Flight Risk Assessment Tool for
General Aviation Pre-Flight Planning”
Advisor: Dr. Isaac Gang
Team Members: Kathleen Hill, Chi Quinn, Erick Torres, and Hunter Walden

“The FAA Data Challenge participants demonstrated what’s possible when we improve access to data: innovation, insights, and impact,” said FAA’s Deputy Chief Data Officer Marseta Dill.

Forum details are available at https://faadatachallenge.nianet.org/forum-information/.

The FAA Data Challenge is sponsored by the FAA’s Chief Data Office and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace.

For more information about FAA Information & Technology Services, please visit
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/afn/offices/ait

For more information about the National Institute of Aerospace, please visit
https://www.nianet.org