Scholarly Commons

The space economy is projected to grow to 1.8 trillion USD by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company. As space operations become more common and diversified, the hazardous nature of the environment is worsened by the growing number of complex actors. Currently, ground segments manage these hazards and risks, but they are faced with potential operation challenges such a…

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative pathogen, poses a great risk to immunocompromised populations due to its multidrug resistance. This pathogen is prevalent in hospital environments and has been detected in spaceflight-related settings, including the International Space Station. Astronauts, who often experience immune dysregulation, are particularly vulnerable to infections from P. aeruginos…

Recognition and classification tasks have become increasingly popular for automation in several fields. These tasks are commonly carried out using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and feedforward neural networks (FFNNs). Their adaptability and feature extraction lead to high-accuracy image recognition results; despite being computationally expensive. However, high computational demands, large…

Over 90% of massive stars have one or more companions. The binary systems we have observed tend to skew to near-equal masses between the primary and the companion stars. We have not been able to resolve many extreme mass-ratio binaries, leading us to pursue different detection methods. We present an analysis of seven massive stars in the young, active star-forming region M17 (d = 1.7 kpc) using d…

This lecture examines international cooperation in space, with a focus on JAXA’s contributions to U.S.-Japan collaboration under the Artemis program.

The Black Box is a service organization administered by the students of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona. Our funding is provided by the Student Government Association. The Black Box is staffed by volunteer students from various academic disciplines.

This lecture explores the role of the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance in maintaining space security and examines key challenges in space diplomacy.

This lecture examines the future of U.S.-Japan cooperation in space and identifies key areas where collaboration could be further strengthened.

This lecture examines the role of U.S. and Japanese commercial and civil space actors in ensuring space security and identifies areas for further collaboration.

The Black Box is a service organization administered by the students of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona. Our funding is provided by the Student Government Association. The Black Box is staffed by volunteer students from various academic disciplines.

Accurate system identification is essential for modeling and controlling vehicle dynamics. This dissertation explores the application of Parameter Informed Reinforcement Learning (PIRL) as a novel approach to system identification (SYSID). PIRL integrates prior system knowledge, such as physical parameters, into reinforcement learning (RL) frameworks to improve estimation accuracy. The study begi…

The United States (US) airline industry is struggling to find enough commercial pilots and to diversify a profession that has the reputation of historically being male and white. To attract a younger and more diverse generation of pilots who have been historically underrepresented, women and people of color, a major US airline announced a diversity plan in March 2021 to hire thousands of pilots, …

In recent years primary flight training in the United States has experienced a significant bottleneck in the form of long waits to schedule check rides with Designated Pilot Examiners. This challenge has been significant enough to warrant Congressional attention, with reforms mandated in the past two FAA Re-authorization Acts. In 2022 a first national survey of flight schools and DPE’s was conduc…

This study aims to investigate the potential benefits and drawbacks of Single-Pilot Operations (SPO) and to provide actionable insights for commercial airlines. A qualitative research design was employed, with data collected via online interviews and analyzed thematically and descriptively using MAXQDA 24. The findings indicate that pilots perceive several advantages of SPO, including the power o…

This short story explores the lasting effects of childhood fear and emotional pain through the life of Luis, burdened by painful childhood memories and the fear he carried for years in silence. Moving between memory and the present, the narrative follows the story as it becomes a moving journey of healing, self-acceptance, and the realization that he no longer has to hide from what once hurt him.

Organizations today face a growing and evolving threat that often originates not from an outside hacker or criminal organization, but from within their own workforce, vendor networks, and trusted partnerships. Insider threats continue to represent one of the most difficult risks to identify, prevent, and mitigate because insiders already possess something external adversaries spend enormous resou…

The Black Box is a service organization administered by the students of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona. Our funding is provided by the Student Government Association. The Black Box is staffed by volunteer students from various academic disciplines.

The Black Box is a student-based creative publication serving the ERAU campus. It is our goal to provide a showcase for the creativity and talent of the ERAU students. View and enjoy!

Document Type Report Publication/Presentation Date 5-2026 Scholarly Commons Citation Berezovski, M. (2026). Comparative Risk Metrics for U.S. Commercial Aviation. Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/bcaas-reports/1 Report 5-2026 Berezovski, M. (2026). Comparative Risk Metrics for U.S. Commercial Aviation. Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/bcaas-reports/1

Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO) is a widely used state estimation technique for Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) navigation in environments where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are unavailable. VIO systems that rely on visual feature tracking are susceptible to performance degradation when operating over surfaces containing repetitive visual textures, where visually similar feature…