CITRIS and the Banatao Institute is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025–26 CITRIS Aviation Prize, a multidisciplinary competition that challenges University of California students to help shape the future of advanced air mobility. This year’s theme, “Vertiport Design for Safe and Efficient Connectivity,” invited teams from across the four CITRIS campuses—UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz—to explore how next-generation aviation systems can integrate with regional transportation networks.
This year’s winning teams are:
CITRIS Aviation Excellence Award: Dare to Ascend Vertically Into the Sky (DAVIS), UC Davis
- Jesse Sandoz
- Benjamin Brundage
- Luis Gomez
- Theresa Dinh
- Abigail Zheng
- Adrian Munoz
- Stephie Soloarivony
- Parker McMillan
- [ADVISOR] Camli Badrya
- [ADVISOR] Cibin Joseph
DART (Drone, Automation, and Robotics Technology) Community Integration Award: Davis Airlink eVolve
- Connor Trieu
- Nils Fleig
- Joey Lee
- Miumiu Zou
- Ryan Sie
- [ADVISOR] Nathan Sedlander
Jeppesen ForeFlight Award for Excellence in Flight Planning & Operations: UC Airlink Santa Cruz
- Eddie Ramos
- Deeptesh Day
- Nataniel Jayaseelan
- Reva Agarwal
- Neha Hingorani
- Eric Vin
- Jonathan Morris
- Akshitha Nagaraj
- [ADVISOR] Javier González-Rocha
- [ADVISOR] Daniel Fremont
Atech Award for Most Innovative Design for Air Mobility: Davis Vision to Mission
- Alparslan Ege Erdogan
- Joshua Hill
- Kailey Gotfried
- Aditi Agrawal
- Lucas Bauckman
- [ADVISOR] Zhaodan Kong
Organized by CITRIS Aviation, the prize joins students, researchers and industry partners to address the technical, operational and societal dimensions of emerging aviation systems. A full story highlighting the winning teams and their projects is coming soon.