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Dr. Chicola Receives FAA Certification as a Remote Drone Pilot and Participates in Field Training at ADVANCE 2025
Tue, 08/05/2025 - 9:27am
Dr. Chicola Receives FAA Certification as a Remote Drone Pilot and Participates in Drone Field Training at ADVANCE 2025**
Congratulations to Dr. Courtney Poirier Chicola, who recently earned her FAA certification as a Remote Drone Pilot after successfully passing the Unmanned Aircraft General – Small (UAG) test. Prior to the examination, she participated in a virtual short course provided by Virginia Tech to help prepare for the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate.
In July, she participated in the "An Experiential and Data-driven Approach to Agricultural Education (ADVANCE)" Educator Professional Development Institute, hosted by Virginia Tech and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This program offers educators a hands-on professional development opportunity, equipping them with the knowledge, experience, curriculum resources, supplies, equipment, and mentoring necessary to integrate drones and precision agriculture concepts into their classrooms. Key topics covered include precision agriculture, drone mapping, data-driven decision-making, data collection with sensors, remote sensing, and workflow management.
Upon completing the ADVANCE program, participants will be FAA-certified remote pilots, proficient in implementing comprehensive drone workflows to create maps and other outputs that support data-driven decision-making.
