Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are under the group of Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs). Dr. Valavanis and his research team at the Unmanned Systems Research Institute (DU²SRI) conducts research these autonomous vehicles, create, coordinate, and promote research in building the next generation of unmanned systems in general and UAS in particular that will be used for a wide spectrum of civil/public domain applications; Function as the focal point within the State of Colorado for basic and applied research and development activities in unmanned systems; Serve as a demo site for unmanned vehicles; Provide the foundations for technology transfer to the private sector; Contribute to paving the way towards gradual integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS), also assisting third parties to obtain Certificates of Authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); Participate in State-wide UAS research and development initiatives offering its know-how and expertise; Assist in economic development and creation of new jobs by graduating the next generation of highly skilled scientists and engineers, ready to compete in a very demanding global market; Bridge the gap between military and civilian application domains.