2016 ACC Young Professionals Innovation Competition Winners Selected

Jan. 11, 2017

The Airport Consultants Council (ACC) announced the winners of the 2016 ACC Young Professionals Innovation Competition.  The first place team will present their submission at the 2017 ACC/AAAE Airport Planning, Design and Construction Symposium in New Orleans.  The first and second place teams will also have the opportunity to display their submissions at the event.

First place was awarded to a team consisting of Tyler Eighmy, Timarie Trarbach, John Barnthouse, and Josey Shaw of Populous for their submission, CurbShare.  It proposes an arrival sequence for passengers at an airport curb based on the transit needs of individuals in order to streamline a seamless experience when leaving the terminal.  By eliminating multiple traffic lanes, CurbShare would provide a location for convenience access to transportation.

Second place was awarded to a team consisting of Tania Gharechedaghy and Derrick Homer of San Francisco International Airport, and Julia Katz and Trudy Homer of PGH Wong Engineering, Inc. for their submission, All Gender Restrooms. It proposes an innovated approach to how and why airports should implement gender-neutral restrooms.

Third place resulted in a tie, the first of which was Redesigning Air Traffic Control Towers for the Future, a submission developed by Manuel Herrera of Jacobsen Daniels, and Chris Groh of Kutchins & Groh.  Their project proposes a completely unmanned air traffic control (UATC) system to be implemented in order to eradicate human error.  Sharing the award was The H-UV-ER Craft submission, developed by a team comprised of Kyle Garrison, Andre Prince, and Tyler Overstreet from Parsons.  They propose a new airplane sanitization technique using automated drones and UV technology.

ACC would like to thank all who submitted projects and participated in the competition, including team members from the following firms and airports:

  • American Airlines
  • City of Austin Aviation Department
  • HJAIA
  • HNTB Corp.
  • Infax Inc.
  • Jacobson Daniels
  • Kimley-Horn and Associates
  • Kutchins & Groh
  • Michael Baker International
  • Myrtle Beach International Airport
  • Parsons
  • PGH
  • Philadelphia International Airport
  • Pond & Co.
  • Populous
  • Revision Inc.
  • RS&H
  • San Francisco International Airport
  • Urban Engineers

"Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 ACC YP Innovation Competition," said ACC President, T.J. Schulz.  "Thanks also to the many teams for their submissions.  We had particularly strong entries this year, which reflects the resourcefulness of our young professionals and the positive direction the industry is heading with regards to identifying and developing innovations."

Competition submissions were evaluated by a panel of judges that included Paul Bowers, publisher of Airport Improvement Magazine; Evan Futterman, president and CEO of Futterman Consulting; Susan Prediger, president of SP Consulting; Wilson Rayfield, architecture principal at Gresham, Smith & Partners; and Zach Varwig, systems analyst at Faith Group, LLC, a young professional and a past winner of the competition.

Supported in part by the ACC Members Foundation, competition is part of the larger efforts of the ACC Young Professionals Forum - a means to engage the young professionals in ACC member firms and enhance their professional careers.  Targeted for industry professionals that are aged 35 or under, the Young Professionals Forum is intended to provide networking, mentoring, education, and career growth opportunities.