Dr. Robert Edgell, Professor of Technology Management in the College of Business at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, recently presented two original research papers at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aviation and Ascend 2025 Co-Conferences, a premier global gathering for advancing aerospace systems, policy, and sustainability. Both papers have now been published in the conference proceedings and are available for public access.

The AIAA Aviation and Ascend Co-Conferences, held earlier this summer, convened leading researchers, engineers, policymakers, and industry experts to explore critical challenges and opportunities shaping the future of aviation and space. Dr. Edgell’s work addressed two timely topics, sustainable aviation and the commercialization of orbital space, through a sociotechnical lens.

Research on Sustainable Aviation
Presented within the Aviation program, Dr. Edgell’s paper, The Future of Sustainable Aviation: Navigating the Sociotechnical Matters of Concern, examines four dominant “Matters of Concern” (Innovating, Operationalizing, Prognosticating, and Synchronizing) influencing the sector’s transition toward sustainable operations. Using dictionary-based text analysis of 781 documents, the research maps how these concerns co-occur and interact within a complex system of stakeholder debates. The study proposes a transition-centric Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework and underscores the vital role of Public-Private Enterprises in aligning innovation, infrastructure, policy, and public trust.

Research on Space Commercialization
Presented within the Ascend program, the second paper, The Early Public-Private Challenge of Commercializing Orbital Space: Comsat-Intelsat and Matters of Concern, investigates the Comsat-Intelsat Network (CIN), the first and only public-private enterprise implemented in outer space. The study identifies four key Matters of Concern—commercialization, stabilization, prognostication, and systematization—that shaped CIN’s development. The findings highlight the need for adaptive governance, inclusive coordination, and strategic foresight in structuring future public-private enterprises for cislunar and interplanetary missions.

His involvement at the conference was funded by a seed grant received by SUNY Poly’s Sustainable Aerospace Energy Center (SEAC), where Dr. Edgell serves as PI. The SAEC’s research focuses on developing cross-disciplinary methodologies to enhance the sustainability of energy and power systems across various aerospace applications. Governments, private industry, the third sector, and scholars are striving to identify optimal integrative approaches to address the wicked ecological stresses on Earth caused by anthropogenic activity, while simultaneously advancing the commercial development of outer space.