Scoggins Always Looking Up

To find J.B. Scoggins on any given weekend, try one of the fields on the Dorothea Dix campus or perhaps the runway that NC State owns in Butner, N.C. You'll see him flying either a remote controlled or autonomous airplane—and loving every minute of it!

J.B. is a junior at NC State, double-majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science. He received a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) scholarship last fall that is good for two years, and includes a summer internship.

McDill Air Force Base in Tampa will be J.B.'s summer home. During the internship, he will be either programming or fabricating parts for aircraft. After nine weeks in Tampa, he'll fly to Washington, D.C. and give a presentation on his experience.

When not in class or doing homework, J.B. takes an active role in NC State's Aerial Robotics Club. As Vice President, J.B. organizes the bi-weekly flight tests for the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that the club builds. He also provides programming for the UAS that's used for taking pictures during the tests and downloading them in real time.

Each summer the club participates in the AUVSI competition at WebsterField, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland. J.B. has made arrangements so he can attend the event this summer. It is a good opportunity to see military UASs, plus private companies come to the competition and talk to the students about their airplanes, which often lead to job offers.

While building and flying airplanes is a fun, hands-on experience, J.B. has learned a lot from his professors at NC State. He especially liked Dr. Hong Luo's Aerodynamics I class last semester. And Dr. Luo enjoyed working with J.B. “ He was one of the best students I had in my class--highly-motivated, hard-working, intelligent, and extremely versatile,” said Dr. Luo.

J. B. was born in Fayetteville, but grew up in Greensboro. He spent the past two summers interning for a Greensboro software company.

Even though J.B. is just a junior, he is already thinking ahead. He is considering getting a masters degree, with a possible goal of having his own company—one that builds small unmanned aircraft.