FAA picks team for drone research

A team of 15 universities that includes Oregon State University has been selected as the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, the agency announced Friday.

The team, led by Mississippi State University, will focus on research, education and training in unmanned systems, or drones, with work to start in September and be fully engaged by January, the FAA stated in a news release. The team will work on areas such as low-altitude operations safety, training and certification of drone pilots and control and communications.

The other team members include Drexel University; Embry Riddle Aeronautical University; Kansas State University; the University of Kansas; Montana State University; New Mexico State University; North Carolina State University; the University of Alabama, Huntsville; the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; the University of North Dakota; and Wichita State University.

The team is expected to make use of six test sites designated around the country in December 2013 by the FAA. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs hosts one test site, part of the Pan-Pacific Unmanned Aerial System Test Range Complex, composed of sites in Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii.

Congress appropriated $5 million last year for a five-year agreement with the center of excellence, which must match the appropriation, according to the FAA.

Fab-Tech Mfg. owner honored

Robert Powell, the owner of a Prineville fabrication company, has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2015 Oregon Small Business Owner of the Year, the agency announced Thursday.

Started in 1999, Fab-Tech Mfg. has worked on Facebook’s data center, 10 Barrel Brewing’s brewery and the arch over Sixth Street in downtown Redmond, according to its website. It has also handled projects in Hawaii, Las Vegas and Washington state.

Along with its structural steel work, Fab-Tech offers powder coating, project management and other services.

— Bulletin staff report