Drone Research (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)

Dr. Adam Houston is a Professor of Atmospheric Science in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.  He is a cloud-scale and mesoscale dynamicist whose research is both empirical and theoretical and aims to advance understanding of severe thunderstorms and associated phenomena.  His observational research relies heavily on unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) which he and his research group use to answer fundamental questions as well as applied problems that connect research to operational meteorology. Updated 4/15/25

Matthew Waite teaches reporting, data journalism, data visualization, programming, and drone journalism at UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Waite created the first drone journalism program anywhere in the world in 2011. He’s spoken with journalists on four continents about using drones to photograph newsworthy events and has trained more than 800 American journalists on how to pass the FAA’s knowledge exam and fly safely and ethically for their news organization. Dozens of Nebraska students have their license now because of training they’ve received from his courses. Prior to joining the faculty, he was the senior news technologist for the St. Petersburg Times of Florida and the principal developer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact. Updated 12/20/23