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300 pix dingus

Ben Dingus completed his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in the Schmale and Reinholtz labs in 2007. Ben developed an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for aerobiological sampling. His interdisciplinary research involved engineering, aerobiology, and plant pathology. Ben completed more than 400 remote-controlled (RC) flights while at Virginia Tech, and he recorded more than 100 autonomous microbe-sampling flights. He participated in numerous demonstrations of autonomous UAVs at Virginia Tech's Kentland farm, and he assisted in providing pilot training for high-school students on an interactive RC simulator. Ben was the chief pilot for the fixed-wing autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle team at Virginia Tech, and they took first place at the June 2007 competition.