University of Louisiana - Monroe

The University of Louisiana is a public university located in Monroe. In the fall of 2013, the University began offering a concentration in unmanned aircraft systems, offered by the aviation department of the College of Business.

Drone Program
The concentration was established to follow the rise of drone technology. As drone technology becomes more common and ubiquitous, so do opportunities to work with drones. The unmanned aircraft systems concentration is designed to give students experience with drones that will give them an advantage in applying for drone related jobs.

The program is taught by Paul Karlowitz, a former military pilot and airport director. The program starts with theory, going through the history of drones before its technology and the applications of it.

The program currently only has one drone, a Robota, LLC “Triton” drone donated by alum Bruce Leggitt. This drone, outfitted with a camera, will fly three hundred feet up in the air, capturing twenty megapixel pictures as it goes. these pictures will then be stitched together to show an overhead picture of crop fields that can help determine its health. The program has also added a quadcopter to its collection.

In its first semester, the program had a mere seven students, growing to twenty-two in the next semester, and nearly doubling to forty-two students in the 2014 school year. As employers hire these specialized students, program faculty expects the number of students in the program to continue growing. The only major obstacle to its growth is FAA regulation.