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About Us

UMassAir Staff

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David Price

uas Pilot, CO-Director of Flight Operations, Adjunct Faculty, UMass Amherst, UMass Amherst Mt. Ida campus

David is a professional unoccupied aerial systems pilot and has taught aviation related courses for more than 20 years.

He teaches UAS-related courses at UMass Amherst and is co-leading the development of a new graduate certificate in UAS that we hope to offer at both the UMass Amherst and Mt Ida campuses in the near future.

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Ryan Wicks

uas Pilot, CO-DIrector of flight operations, Data Analyst, CONTRACT SERVICES CO-LEAD and Adjunct Faculty, UMass Amherst

Ryan is a professional Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) pilot, a data analyst, and the lead equipment technician for UMassAir. 

He works on a variety of remote-sensing projects including coastal salt marsh research, transportation research, energy infrastructure, and wetland hydrology research, and co-leads UMassAir’s Contract Services program.

He also co-teaches the Applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) course and is co-leading the development of a new graduate certificate in UAS that we hope to offer at both UMass Amherst and Mt Ida in the near future. 

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Amanda Davis

uas PILOT, DATA ANALYST AND CONTRACT SERVICES CO-LEAD

Amanda has been a UAS pilot with UMass Air since 2019 and she co-leads UMassAir’s Contract Services program. 

She earned her Masters Degree in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology from UMass Amherst in 2020. When she is not flying UAS or getting giddy about spatial data, Amanda is adventuring throughout New England, trying (and failing) to shuck an oyster for the millionth time, and always searching for a seafood shack.

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Josh Ward

UAS PILOT, DATA ANALYSt

Josh is our newest UAS pilot and has worked as a UAS data technician since 2019. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Conservation with a certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology from UMass Amherst in 2020. He is currently a graduate student in Environmental Conservation with a concentration in Water, Wetlands, and Watersheds at UMass Amherst. Josh has a passion for the outdoors, for geography and geospatial data, and for history which he studies in his free time.

Faculty Co-Principal Investigators

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David Boutt

Professor, Geosciences, UMass Amherst

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Lance Fiondella

Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UMass Dartmouth

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Michael Knodler

Professor, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, UMass Amherst

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Charlie Schweik

Professor, Environmental Conservation and School of Public Policy, UMass Amherst

Faculty and Postdoctoral Affiliates

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Cole Fitzpatrick

Research Assistant Professor, Civil and environmental engineering, UMass Amherst

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Kate Fickas

Postdoctoral Fellow at UMass Amherst, Research Faculty at University of Utah. (PhD in Ecology and Remote Sensing, Oregon State University.)

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Christine Hatch

Extension Associate Professor, Geosciences, UMass Amherst

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Scott Jackson

Extension Professor, Environmental Conservation, UMass Amherst

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Hilary Sandler

Extension Professor, Director UMass Cranberry Station

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Jiawei Yuan

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer and Information Science, UMass Dartmouth

Active UMass Student Affiliates

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Sarah McKnight

PhD candidate, hydrogeology, Geosciences, umass amherst. licensed uas pilot

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Lyn Watts

MS CANDIDATE, HYDROLOGY, GEOSCIENCES, UMASS AMHERST. LICENSED UAS PILOT

Graduated students who work in UAS-affiliated positions