Luxion named associate director

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Stephen Luxion, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, has been named associate director of the Alliance for System Safety of Unmanned Aerial Systems through Research Excellence center, according to a Mississippi State University news release. The ASSURE center is based at MSU, but involves numerous universities, government agencies and private firms. Drone testing in Mississippi is conducted at NASA's Stennis Space Center on the Gulf Coast, over farms in the Delta, and at the Raspet Flight Research Lab in Starkville. Luxion retired from the military in 2014. He established the Air Force's first armed drone squadron after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; helped NATO establish its first “ aerospace center of excellence;” and taught aerospace studies and tested drones at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. (Source: Starkville Daily News, 11/20/15)