WVU engineers advance U.S. Air Force search and rescue missions in hostile territories with unmanned drones

Through a 21-month, $300,000 project with funding from the Small Business Innovation Research of the U.S. Air Force Laboratory and in partnership with Kinnami Software Corporation, engineers in WVU’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources are making it possible for combat search and rescue operations to pinpoint isolated personnel without using radio GPS that can be intercepted.

‘Beam Me Up:’ Nation’s First Quantum Drone Provides Unrivaled Security

Researchers are developing the nation’s first drone-based, mobile quantum network for unhackable wireless communication. The network includes drones, a ground station, lasers and fiber optics. In war, these drones would provide one-time crypto-keys to exchange critical information, which spies and enemies would not be able to intercept. Quantum protects information using the laws of nature and not just by a clever manmade code.

From Immigration Battle to Outer Space, Rutgers Student Makes Long Journey

Becoming an astronaut is challenging for anyone, but for School of Engineering senior Marissa Navarro, that dream was complicated by an eight-year fight to stay in the United States. Find out how she got the attention of NASA’s Mars 2020 deputy surface phase lead, Diana Trujillo, and how she is one step closer to reaching her goal of becoming an astronaut someday.