[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17590-17591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08389]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary of Transportation


Announcement of Requirements for the Secretary of 
Transportation's RAISE (Recognizing Aviation and Aerospace Innovation 
in Science and Engineering) Awards

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to a recommendation by the Future of Aviation 
Advisory Committee, the Secretary of Transportation, through the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is announcing the fifth annual 
competition to recognize students with the ability to demonstrate 
unique, innovative thinking in aerospace science and engineering. There 
are two divisions within the competition: a high school division and a 
university division (both undergraduate and graduate). The Department 
of Transportation (DOT) intends to use the competition to incentivize 
students at high schools and universities to think creatively in 
developing innovative solutions to aviation and aerospace issues, and 
to share those innovations with the broader community.

DATES: Submissions accepted April 20, 2018 through midnight on June 1, 
2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Watts, Ph.D., Federal 
Aviation Administration, [email protected], or James Brough, 
Federal Aviation Administration, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Award Approving Official: Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of 
Transportation.
    Subject of Challenge Competition: The Secretary's RAISE Award 
competition will recognize innovative scientific and engineering 
achievements that will have a significant impact on the future of 
aerospace or aviation. On behalf of the Secretary, the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) will accept student submissions in June and 
conduct an evaluation in July 2018. The rules for this competition will 
also be available at http://www.challenge.gov.
    Eligibility: To be eligible to participate in the Secretary's RAISE 
Award competition, students must be U.S. citizens or permanent 
residents. For the high school division, the students must have been 
enrolled in at least one semester (or quarterly equivalent) at a U.S. 
high school (or equivalent approved home school program) in 2018. For 
the University division, the student must have been enrolled in a U.S.-
based college or university for at least one semester (or quarterly 
equivalent) during 2017. Students may participate and be recognized as 
individuals or in teams. Each member of a team must meet the 
eligibility criteria. An individual may join more than one team. There 
is no charge to enter the competition.
    The following additional rules apply:
    1. Candidates shall submit a project in the competition under the 
rules promulgated by the Department of Transportation (DOT);
    2. Candidates shall agree to execute indemnifications and waivers 
of claims against the Federal government as provided in this Notice;
    3. Candidates may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee 
acting within the scope of employment;
    4. Candidates may not be an employee of the DOT, including but not 
limited to the FAA;
    5. Candidates shall not be deemed ineligible because an individual 
used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a 
competition, if the facilities and employees are made available to all 
individuals participating in the competition on an equitable basis;
    6. The competition is subject to all applicable Federal laws and 
regulations. Participation constitutes the Candidates' full and 
unconditional agreement to these rules and to the Secretary's 
decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this 
competition;
    7. Submissions which in the Secretary's sole discretion are 
determined to be substantially similar to a prior submitted entry may 
be disqualified;
    8. Submissions must be original, must be the work of the 
Candidates, and must not violate the rights of other parties. All 
submissions remain the property of the applicants. Each Candidate 
represents and warrants that s/he, or the team, is the sole author and 
owner of the submission, that the submission is wholly original, that 
it does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third 
party of which the Candidate is aware, and, if submitted in electronic 
form, is free of malware;
    9. By submitting an entry, contestants and entrants agree to assume 
any and all risks and waive any claims against the Federal Government 
and its related entities (except in the case of willful misconduct) for 
any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue or profits, 
whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their 
participation in this contest, whether the injury, death, damage, or 
loss arises through negligence of otherwise;
    10. The Secretary and the Secretary's designees have the right to 
request access to supporting materials from the Candidates;
    11. The submissions cannot have been submitted in the same or 
substantially similar form in any previous Federally-sponsored 
promotion or Federally-sponsored contest, of any kind;
    12. Each Candidate grants to the FAA, the DOT, as well as other 
Federal agencies with which it partners, the right to use names, 
likeness, application materials, photographs, voices, opinions, and/or 
hometown and state for the Department's promotional purposes in any 
media, in perpetuity, worldwide, without further payment or 
consideration; and
    13. The FAA Administrator collects personal information from 
Candidates when they enter this competition. The information collected 
is subject to the Challenge Post privacy policy located at http://www.challengepost.com/privacy.
    Expression of Interest: While not required, students are strongly 
encouraged to send brief expressions of interest to the FAA prior to 
submitting entries. The expressions of interest should be sent by May 
10, 2018 to [email protected]. It should include the following 
elements: (1) Name of candidates; (2) name of educational institutions 
with which candidates are affiliated; (3) telephone and email addresses 
for each candidate; and (4) a synopsis of the concept, limited to no 
more than two pages,

[[Page 17591]]

providing a high-level overview of the proposed project and related 
research.

Submission Requirements

    Complete submission packages shall consist of the following 
elements:
    1. Nomination letter from at least one teacher, advisor, faculty 
member, and others as appropriate. The nomination letter(s) must 
communicate accomplishments in the following areas:

a. Technical Merit of the Concept

    Evidence of technical merit based upon teacher (parent or legal 
guardian in the case of home schooled applicants), advisor, or faculty 
nomination and evaluation of the submitted proposal, conducted 
research, written paper, results, and/or reports.

b. Professionalism and Leadership

    Evidence of professionalism and leadership may be in the form of, 
but not limited to:

(1) Membership and offices held in various groups
(2) Presentations made to various groups, meetings, and at symposia
(3) Leadership in student professional activities
(4) Community outreach activities

    2. An overall summary of the innovation, not to exceed one page, 
which includes a title of the project, a one paragraph synopsis, and a 
statement of the potential innovative impact the concept will have on 
the field of aviation or aerospace;
    3. A copy of the student's academic transcript or certified grade 
report (as applicable);
    4. A copy of the paper(s) and related materials describing the 
innovative concept written by the student(s) being nominated (no page 
limit).
    The FAA may request additional information, including supporting 
documentation, more detailed contact information, releases of 
liability, and statements of authenticity to guarantee the originality 
of the work. Failure to respond in a timely manner may result in 
disqualification.
    Electronic packages may be transmitted by email to 
[email protected]. Hard copies should be forwarded with a cover 
letter to the attention of: Patricia Watts, Ph.D., Program Director, 
Centers of Excellence Program Office, L-28, FAA William J. Hughes 
Technical Center, Atlantic City International Airport, NJ 08405.
    The submission period begins on April 20, 2018. Submissions must be 
sent by 11:59 p.m. Pacific daylight time on June 1, 2018. The 
timeliness of submissions will be determined by the postmark (if sent 
in hard copy) or time stamp of the recipient (if emailed). Competition 
administrators assume no responsibility for lost or untimely 
submissions for any reason.
    Award: The winner is expected to be announced in October, 2018. A 
trophy with the student's name and date of award will be displayed at 
the Department of Transportation and a display copy of the trophy will 
be sent to the student's school/college/university. The student(s) will 
receive an additional plaque. At the option of the FAA Administrator, 
the FAA will pay for invitational travel expenses to Washington, DC for 
up to four representatives of the winning team(s) should selectees be 
invited to present their project(s) to FAA and DOT officials.
    The university level student(s) will attend the annual Outstanding 
Student of the Year Awards ceremony hosted by the University 
Transportation Centers--Council of Transportation Research Centers 
(CUTC). The DOT will honor the RAISE award recipient at this event 
conducted during the Transportation Research Board meetings each 
January in Washington, DC. Further details will be provided to the 
selectee(s).
    Selections Will Be Based Upon the Following: Students will submit 
entries to the FAA Centers for Excellence Program Director. The FAA 
Aviation Education Program Manager and the FAA COE Program Director 
will review entries to determine eligibility. The COE Program Office 
will convene a panel consisting of representative experts from 
academia, government (officials including those within the FAA and the 
DOT), and representatives of the private sector. The panel members will 
judge the entries and rank order submissions. The FAA COE Program 
Office will present the most highly qualified entries to the FAA 
Administrator, who will make recommendations to the Secretary of 
Transportation. The Secretary will make the final selection(s). The 
Department reserves the right to not award the prize in either or both 
the High School category or the University category if the selecting 
officials believe that no submission demonstrates sufficient innovative 
scientific and engineering potential and/or achievements in its 
category.
    Panel members will judge entries against other submissions from the 
same division or category based on the following criteria:

Technical Merit

     Has the submission presented a clear understanding of the 
associated problems?
     Has the submission developed a logical and workable 
solution and approach to solving the problem/s?
     What are the most significant aspects of this concept?
     Has the submission clearly described the breadth of impact 
of the innovation?

Originality

     Is this concept new or a variation of an existing idea, 
and in what way(s)?
     How is this work unique?
     Was the concept developed independently or in cooperation 
with others?

Impact

     To what extent does this project have the potential to 
make a significant impact and/or contribution to the future of the 
aviation and aerospace environment?

Practicality

     Who directly benefits from this work?
     Can this program or activity be implemented in a practical 
fashion?
     What are the costs anticipated to be incurred and saved by 
executing this concept?

Measurability

     How has this individual/group measured the impact on the 
aviation environment?
     To what extent does the innovation result in measurable 
improvements?

Applicability

     Can this effort be scaled?
     Is this work specific to one region, various regions, or 
to the entire nation?
    All factors are important and will be given consideration, but the 
advisory panel will give the ``technical merit'' factor the most weight 
in the screening process. The Secretary of Transportation retains sole 
discretion to select the winning entrant.

Additional Information

     Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop 
COMPETES Act challenge applications.
     Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a 
contract to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund 
efforts in support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719 (America COMPETES Act).

    Issued on: April 17, 2018.
Michael Greco,
Manager, Enterprise Services Test and Evaluation Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-08389 Filed 4-18-18; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P