International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Announces Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship Winners

Gustavo Sanchez Cortes and Ben Wright Announced as Kapustin Scholarship winners at ISASI Annual Conference, Lisbon, Portugal

STERLING, VA, UNITED STATES, November 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On October 3, 2024, the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) announced the two winners of the Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship at the ISASI Annual Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Gustavo Sanchez Cortes is a driven Ph.D. Candidate at Purdue University's School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. Gustavo Holds a Master's degree in Aviation and Aerospace
Management from Purdue University and a master's in Aeronautical Military Sciences from the
Colombian Air Force University. Before pursuing his Ph.D., Gustavo served with distinction in the Colombian Air Force for 20 years. Gustavo's research interests encompass a broad spectrum within aviation, including air travel accessibility, advanced air mobility, aviation human factors, and aviation safety. Gustavo’s submission titled “Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Investigating Aviation Accidents,” explored the use of AI for accident investigations in the areas of machine learning, expert systems, robotics, and natural language processing.

Ben Wright’s passion for aviation began when he started flying gliders at age 13, soloed at 14, and gained his cross-country endorsement at 16. Since then, he has completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology combining his love of flying with his recently completed Master’s degree in Safety and Human Factors in Aviation from Cranfield University. Ben’s submission titled “Improving Eye Witness Testimony (EWT) in Air Accident Investigation Through the use of AI Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPTs),” explored the problem of inaccuracies in EWTs. In part Ben’s paper explored using AI chatbots to reducing the time to obtain EWTs and thus reduce the affect of external factors.

ABOUT ISASI

ISASI is a society formed to promote air safety by the exchange of ideas, experiences and information about aircraft accident investigations, and to aid in the advancement of flight safety; to promote technical advancement by providing professional education through lectures, displays and presentations and by the exchange of information for mutual development of improved investigations; to broaden professional relationships among members; to maintain and increase the prestige, standing and influence of the Air Safety Investigator in matters of air safety. The Society was founded in the United States under articles of incorporation in the District of Columbia on August 14, 1964. At the organizational meeting, the governing by-laws of the Society were adopted, and the first slate of officers elected. Mr. Joseph 0. Fluett of the U. S. Civil Aeronautics Board and the initiator of the preliminary action to establish the Society, was elected the first President.

The primary purpose of the Society, quickly named SASI, was to promote that part of the aeronautical endeavor wherein lies the moral obligation of the Air Safety Investigator to the Public, and to promote the education of its members, of those directly associated with aeronautical problems, and of the general public concerning those problems peculiar to the work of the Air Safety Investigator. With the establishment of the Canadian and Australian Societies' and over 100 individual members from 35 countries, the international nature of the Society was recognized in 1977, and the name of the Society was changed to The International Society of Air Safety Investigators to reflect the changes. Affiliated National Societies are located in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the United States.

The executive officers are: Barbara M. Dunn, President; Olivier Ferrante, Vice President; Chad Balentine, Secretary; and Eric Prince, Treasurer.

ABOUT THE RUDOLF KAPUSTIN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

The Kapustin Scholarship's purpose is to encourage and assist college-level students interested in the field of aviation safety and aircraft occurrence investigation. The Scholarship fund was established through donations and will provide an annual allocation of funds for the scholarship if funds are available.

An award of $2000 will be made to each student who wins the competitive writing requirement, meets the application requirements and registers for the ISASI annual seminar. The award will be used to cover costs for the seminar registration fees, travel, and lodging/meals expenses. In addition, the scholarship winners are offered:

* A one year membership to ISASI

* The Southern California Safety Institute (SCSI) offers tuition-free attendance to ANY regularly scheduled SCSI course to the winner of the ISASI Scholarship. This includes the two-week Aircraft Accident Investigator course or any other investigation courses.

* The Transportation Safety Institute offers a tuition free course for the winner of the Scholarship. Travel to/from the course and accommodations are not included.

* The Cranfield University Safety and Accident Investigation Centre offers tuition-free attendance at its 5-day Accident Investigation course which runs as part of its Masters Degree program at the Cranfield campus, 50 miles north of London, UK.

* The University of Southern California Aviation Safety and Security Program offers tuition-free attendance to any regularly-scheduled class offered in Los Angeles, Alhambra, Washington, DC, or online. This includes the two-week Aircraft Accident Investigation class taught in Alhambra, California.

Barbara Dunn
ISASI
+1 703-430-9668
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