Picture it, you look up to the sky at an airspace populated by both manned and unmanned aircraft of all shapes and sizes, delivering goods and people across the country, from the largest cities to the most rural locations.

Sounds like the backdrop to a great sci fi movie set far in the future right? Well, not exactly.

Earlier this year, NASA outlined an Advanced Air Mobility or (AAM) mission to support the safe development of air transportation systems within emerging aviation markets (such as automated aircraft) to navigate existing airspace as well as provide extended reach and service to areas that have been previously underserved.

And while this vision is exciting, there will certainly be many challenges to address in bringing it to life. And the key to tackling these challenges can be found in O.R. tools such as optimization and simulation.

To help explore what our future airspace might look like as well as our path to getting there, I am thrilled to be joined by John-Paul Clarke, a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin.