Metron Aviation Garners Best-of-Session Honors at ATM 2009

The paper, authored by Metron Aviations Robert Hoffman, Ph.D., in conjunction with University of Marylands Shin-Lai (Alex) Tien, develops an optimization technique to design sector boundaries, taking time-varying traffic demand and use of multi-controller operating teams into account. This Best-of-Session award is a great honor for Metron Aviation, said Norm Fujisaki, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. The ATM Conference continues to be an important source of collaboration for the ATM R&D community and gives us the opportunity to share and examine important research topics that ultimately advance NextGen and SESAR concepts. These concepts hold the promise of harmonizing future ATM systems for optimal efficiency and environmental sustainability, while improving safety. The ATM 2009 Conference also selected two other research papers from Metron Aviations advanced research group:

• Linking Traffic Management to the Airport Surface, written by Metron Aviations Nathan Doble, John Timmerman, Ted Carniol and Mark Klopfenstein, in conjunction with the FAAs Midori Tanino and Ved Sud, examines a Departure Flow Management (DFM) capability and departure timing decisions resulting from airspace constraints, and what it takes to evolve into the next generation of capability. Results from field studies are presented along with the introduction of Tower Flight Data Manager (TFDM), which will provide decision support for airport surface processes such as taxi planning and pre-pushback gate operations.
• Environmental Performance of U.S. NextGen, written by Metron Aviations Terence Thompson, Mike Graham and Chris Ermatinger, in conjunction with NASA's Mike Marcolini and Old Dominion University's Jerry Creedon, discusses the fuel-efficiency, noise, air quality and climate-related characteristics of the NextGen system in 2025 and beyond. Quantitative estimates of several future evolutions of NextGen were evaluated and the effects of operational improvements and new engine and airframe technologies highlighted.

In continuous efforts to further the science necessary to lead to a harmonized global Air Traffic Management (ATM) system, the FAA and EUROCONTROL have jointly organized an international conference series focused on ATM Research and Development. These conferences have been held in both Europe and the U.S. For more information, visit www.atmseminar.org.