“I remember telling my professor they were just a fad — they’re going to go away,” Andrew Duncan (’12) recalls, laughing. His early dismissal of drones as mere toys during his master’s program in Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle set the stage for a dramatic transformation. Today, Duncan leads the Autonomous Systems Research Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
A Birthday Gift that Kept Giving
Duncan’s love for aviation started early. “For my 10th birthday, I wanted my party at an airport,” he remembers. This celebration included a discovery flight, a pivotal experience that deepened his love for aviation and led him to earn his pilot’s license in high school. He still flies today, with deep gratitude for his early training and a healthy dose of humility after finding himself caught in a microburst.
“I learned the difference between training and knowledge,” he recalls. “It was purely an instinctual reaction that I had learned through training, and I credit that with essentially saving my life. But of course, that spooked me. The sky teaches you quickly that you are not invincible.”
Duncan initially planned a career as a pilot but moved into airport operations, working at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He continued to tinker with drones, and as he sought new creative opportunities, it was natural for the Tennessee native to think of Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a potential employer.
From Hobbyist to Innovator
Duncan’s connection to Oak Ridge is deeply rooted. He’s the third generation of his family to work at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) largest multi-disciplinary laboratory, which focuses on the nation’s energy security, economic prosperity and environmental stewardship. However, he started, not on the ground floor, but in his basement. “I started building drones as a hobby,” he recounts.
This hobby soon turned professional when two researchers at Oak Ridge asked for his help. “They knew I had a pilot’s license but didn’t know the first thing about building drones. They gave me a week to build one, and if it flew, I had a job,” Duncan explains. “I spent a week in a little closet building a drone, took it out on a Friday, and it flew.”
“We can build drones with 3D printers. This capability helps us lower the cost of drones while maintaining their effectiveness.”
Andrew Duncan (’12)
That little DIY project was almost 12 years ago. Today, Duncan has a much-improved workspace and access to a highly diverse and accomplished team of top engineers and researchers.
Flying Farther
At the helm of Oak Ridge’s Autonomous Assistance Research Group, Duncan finds ways to put drones to work to enhance U.S. national security, including efforts to stabilize geopolitical regions through environmental assessments. He points to one global effort: “Our team is deploying drones to collect data for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers so they can help Ecuador combat river erosion that poses both environmental and political challenges.”
Closer to home, Duncan is particularly proud of his team’s recent rollout of an emergency response program for the Department of Energy and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “We developed the first drone-based response program for DOE, which has been instrumental in speeding up power restoration after natural disasters,” he notes, underscoring the critical nature of this innovation.
Advancing Technology and Access
Duncan and his team are exploring the potential of additive manufacturing with next-generation materials and techniques. “We can build drones with 3D printers,” he explains. “This capability helps us lower the cost of drones while maintaining their effectiveness.”
Sometimes his work has commercial applications. Duncan is a co-inventor who patented a multimodal communications technology. “We’ve licensed that technology, and a company is producing it now,” he says. This achievement underscores the practical potential of research to influence the broader industry.
Basking in the Golden Age
Duncan sees boundless opportunities for both hardware improvements and advancements in data processing algorithms for uncrewed aerial systems. “We’re at the golden age of drones. There’s explosive growth and opportunity.” He highlights his team’s efforts in edge computation to enhance real-time decision-making capabilities in the field, which has applications in defense and emergency management.
“There’s nothing like landing on grass strips in the mountains.”
Andrew Duncan (’12)
The near frontier is integrating more artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in the “toy that is transforming tech.” The potential excites Duncan’s imagination. “I am fascinated with this concept of AI…specifically the application of the intersection of drones and AI within the warfighter support or the tactical application…and learning ways that we can leverage both of these technologies to make the warfighter more effective and honestly make their jobs safer.”
Despite his high-flying career in drone research, Duncan’s heart remains with traditional piloting. He treasures his weekend flights, particularly over the rugged landscapes of East Tennessee. “There’s nothing like landing on grass strips in the mountains,” he says. Among his favorite aircraft is the Piper Arrow, though flying a 1946 Aeronca Champ is hard to beat: “It’s stick and rudder flying. It’s just, in my opinion, pure flying.”
After all, autonomous operation isn’t everything.