University, state of Alaska to host 2nd annual International Drone Conference

Alaska’s pivotal role in drone and autonomous systems research will be highlighted at the upcoming  scheduled for Aug. 13-15 at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. The conference is hosted by the University of Alaska and the state of Alaska and will feature three days of engaging discussions on the latest advancements and future trends in autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, both locally and globally.

GASC is sponsored by the  at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. ACUASI is one of the nation’s top drone research programs.

“ACUASI’s research and development in unmanned aircraft technology continues to break new ground,” UA President Pat Pitney said. “Alaska is at the crossroads for global commerce, transportation and logistics, making this the perfect location for the meaningful dialogue that will occur at this conference. On behalf of the university, I’m pleased to welcome all of the speakers and attendees to this event.”

Attendees can expect insightful presentations from leading international experts, dynamic discussions among industry and policy leaders and numerous networking opportunities with innovators in the field of autonomous systems. 

The conference comes as ACUASI recently completed a first-of-its-kind drone test flight in Cook Inlet, surveying an offshore gas platform owned by Furie Inc. The 15-mile flight from Furie’s Nikiski processing facility to the offshore platform was monitored by Raytheon Technologies. The drone was refueled and given a payload to return to Nikiski as a test of future material delivery applications. The test flight was the result of three years of work by ACUASI, Furie and HEX Cook Inlet LLC in partnership with Raytheon.

More than 100 industry leaders and experts in the expanding field of air, land and sea autonomous systems are slated to attend, including:

  • Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy
  • Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom
  • Cathy Cahill, Director of ACUASI
  • Katie Thomson, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
  • John Younkin, Director of Emerging Technologies at Raytheon
  • Colonel Timothy Meerstein, Commander, Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center
  • Troy Lofven, Cybersecurity Advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
  • John Illson, Senior Director of Safety and Regulatory Operations for Merlin Labs
  • Steven A. Bert, Senior Economist at North Carolina State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education
  • Lance R. Brady, National Uncrewed Systems Office chief for the U.S. Geological Survey
  • Paige Brochu, Director of the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Lab

“Last year’s inaugural conference was an overwhelming success, and we expect this year’s conference to be another powerful event in the dynamic field of autonomous systems,” Bob McCoy, director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute said. “We thank UA President Pat Pitney and Gov. Mike Dunleavy for again sponsoring this conference. They and those at ACUASI know there’s no better place for autonomous systems research, demonstrations and information exchanging than here in Alaska."

For more details or to register for the conference, visit .