Memorial contribution made for UAS4STEM competition
Patrick W. Beagan, of Arlington, Massachusetts, passed away at the age of 45 in June 2017. Patrick studied mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and pursued a decades-long career in software design and development. He founded a small software company in the late 1990s and then held senior positions at several software companies in the Boston area. Most recently, he was awarded a patent for an innovative software design at Oracle Corporation. Complementing his professional career and long-held interest in flying, Patrick discovered the art of flying and the science of building multirotor FPV racing drones in 2014. He was immediately captivated by this hobby that combined the reward of designing and building his own aircraft, the analysis and problem solving of debugging issues, and the thrill of first-person flight—not to mention the camaraderie of the local FPV flying community. Patrick was a founding member of the Boston Multi Rotor Club in 2015, and at one time, was one of the top-ranked pilots in the New England area. He made a nice group of friends in the local racing community and was always willing to lend a hand or spare parts. In addition to his professional life and newfound passion in all things drones, Patrick pursued many outdoor sports in his lifetime including skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, and cycling. He and his wife of nine years, Andrea, were also ardent travelers and nature lovers—having traveled together across the US and in 30-plus countries around the world. Patrick's wife is sponsoring a scholarship for the 2019 UAS4STEM program in her husband’s memory. She is keen to acknowledge how this hobby touched Patrick's life through continual learning, competition, and fun. Her hope is to help promote the same enthusiasm and learning opportunity for the next generation. The UAS4STEM drone challenge was designed by the AMA to encourage teamwork, competition, and success through a STEM-based education platform. The program provides teams of four to 10 middle and high school students with training, insurance, and equipment to compete in a waypoint and payload delivery challenge. To learn more about UAS4STEM visit https://uas4stem.org/.
