Congratulations to the UC Berkeley student team selected to continue to Phase 2 of the 2025–26 CITRIS Aviation Prize competition. The team includes:
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Zhe Fu – PhD Transportation Engineering
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Jean-Luc Lupien – PhD Systems Engineering
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Andrew Park – MS Civil Engineering
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Jordan Kam – BS Aerospace Engineering
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William Su – BS Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering
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Katie Wang – BS EECS and Pure Math
Advisers: Mark Hansen, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Raja Sengupta, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Vishwanath Bulusu, aerospace researcher, Crown Consulting Inc, and UC Berkeley alum.
This year’s challenge centers on designing the operational framework for the California Airlink, a proposed intercampus air transportation system linking the four CITRIS campuses, Moffett Federal Airfield and several regional airports via electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Anchored by the Berkeley Space Center at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, which is proposed to serve as both a research hub and a testbed, the California Airlink connects these sites through existing aerospace and drone programs that prepare students, researchers and communities for the future of flight.
Teams were asked to propose strategies for selecting a site for an eVTOL vertiport, routing low-altitude air traffic, and managing emergency procedures and weather-aware operations — work that will ultimately support a scalable simulation framework validating future infrastructure and system design.
The team will present their final design in late spring to a judging panel of aviation experts from CITRIS Aviation, NASA Ames, and sponsoring companies and organizations. Evaluations will consider overall innovation, technical rigor and economic feasibility.
Congratulations again and best of luck to the UC Berkeley CITRIS team!