Brick in the wall

I recently visited Orlando, FL for the Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) and I took my first step into the conference-world. I probably wouldn't have gone if I hadn't been presenting a paper. But the experience was amazing. Never had I thought that just sitting all day attending presentations, with lunch and coffee breaks in the middle, then talking to the presenters and researchers at the end of the day would be so much fun. I really felt like I wanted to be a bigger part of this world and venture deeper into the rabbit hole. It also made me want to go to such an event even if I wasn't publishing. I also realized how I'm just another brick in the wall, how tiny I was when all the industry professionals got together under one roof.

I did successfully present my paper and defend a few questions thrown towards me, met many different people from all over: Boeing, NASA, FAA, MITRE (CAASD), Eurocontrol, Lockheed Martin etc. Most of the people who attended my presentation really liked it, mainly because it was so relevant to their papers and/or everyday travel. My paper was titled "Impact of Critical Hub Airport Configurations in the Next Generation Air Transportation System". When I started talking about Chicago's O'Hare airport, I asked a question that told me the audience was really interested. The question was, "Has any of you been delayed for a long period on the tarmac at O'Hare?" Everyone just smiled.

The whole AIAA/IEEE community is so dedicated to finding solutions to such problems related to Air Traffic Management, safety issues, etc. It is just amazing! After all said and done, my flight from ORD to CMI took 35 minutes to taxi. It was taxiing longer than the flight time. That is just ridiculous. The guy next to me was speechless when I told him what my presentation in Orlando was all about. I think he felt like choking me because he wanted to get to his girlfriend quicker and the Chicago ATC just wouldn't let him.

I decided to celebrate this momentous trip to Orlando by starting by new professional blog: http://turbulenttarmacs.wordpress.com/ It will be my wordpad for everything related to the industry. I hope to integrate everything into my own website someday, hopefully in the next month ;)