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UMD faculty specialist and DLC technical lead Animesh Shastry (left) and UAS Research and Operations Center engineer Mckenzie Crandall carry Leviathan to its takeoff site. |
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Unveiling an innovative design that significantly boosts drone capabilities, the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Autonomous Micro Air Vehicle (AMAV) team won prestigious recognition at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Lift Challenge (DLC) on Sunday, August 9, earning an award for Most Revolutionary Aerodynamic Design—Academia and a $500K cash prize.
UMD was the top academic team and one of only six, out of more than 100, to be singled out for special recognition at the competition, in which participants designed and tested uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) capable of carrying heavy payloads over significant distances.
Drones currently in use are typically limited to payload-to-weight ratios of 1:1 or less. Boosting the ratio could open up many more potential uses, including in construction, disaster relief, cargo delivery, and search-and-rescue.
Over a period of less than ten months, teams participating in the DLC set out to design, build, and fly drones capable of lifting as much as four times their body weight and carrying that load for at least five miles. UMD’s answer to the challenge, “Leviathan,” is a morphing aircraft that takes off as a tricopter and then transitions during flight to a monocopter to maximize lift. The vehicle is nearly 18-foot across, yet weighs only 37 pounds.
“We harnessed the robust drone expertise available at UMD to come up with a solution to basically a moonshot challenge,” said Derek Paley, Willis H. Young Professor of Aerospace Engineering Education and the AMAV team’s founding director. “Our competitive edge lies in our ability to convert an innovative concept to a fully operational prototype in a matter of months.” Paley served as faculty facilitator of the DLC effort.
With this event, the AMAV team has notched up another milestone, building on a track record of success that includes first place finishes in the 2022 NIST UAS Indoor Challenge 4.0, the 2021 NIST UAS Triple Challenge 3.1, and the 2019 VFS MAV competition.
In addition to student participants, the team draws faculty and personnel from the Department of Aerospace Engineering and the UMD UAS Research and Operations Center (UROC), a Southern Maryland-based hub for designing and testing autonomous aircraft. Joshua Gaus, UROC’s lead UAS engineer, is its advisor. UROC engineer Mckenzie Crandall, pilot Alex Vrbka, and chief pilot Grant Williams also played pivotal roles on the DLC effort, with UROC Director John Slaughter helping to oversee the endeavor.
Two aerospace engineering faculty members— research processor Thomas Beutner and assistant professor Chloe Johnson—served as advisors on the DLC effort alongside Paley. The team included undergraduate students Matthew Ayd and Steven Kuo as well as faculty specialist Animesh Shastry, the DLC technical lead.
August 13, 2026
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