An Oklahoma State University engineer recently received a prestigious research award from the Oklahoma City Innovation District.

Daniel Gassen — a research and development engineer with the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education — received the Oklahoma Innovator Award for Outstanding Research and Development in Aerospace, which honors a researcher or research team whose innovative work advances knowledge and creates real-world impact.

“Daniel’s leadership, technical expertise and relentless commitment to innovation exemplify the very best of aerospace research and development,” said Dr. Jamey Jacob, OAIRE executive director. “His contributions to PHASM (passive health assessment in sea mammals) reflect the kind of forward-thinking engineering that drives meaningful impact in our industry and strengthens Oklahoma’s position as a leader in aerospace innovation.

“At OAIRE, we are incredibly proud of our engineers and the research they pursue day in and day out as part of our efforts to have a global reach with regional impact. This recognition is not only well-deserved for Daniel, but also a testament to the culture of excellence and innovation our team continues to build across a broad range of emerging aerospace technologies.”

The PHASM project is a labor of love that Gassen has poured countless hours into, including research, design, testing and redesign.

The project uses fixed-wing aircraft equipped with a collection apparatus to fly along and above marine mammals — dolphins have been the key subjects thus far — and collect chuff or exhalant samples from the animal.

Samples — like the first-of-its-kind captured using UAS in the fall of 2024 — can provide researchers with key information on DNA, viral load, hormone levels and more. This information allows for a better health assessment of a single subject, as well as provides insights into the health of the pod in a less invasive process than capturing a subject and conducting tests manually.

“This is extremely validating, and I’m very grateful to have even been considered for the award,” Gassen said. “This is a passion project for me. I hope this is just the beginning of what we can do with this project. I hope I can keep doing it for the rest of my life. I feel like the last few months have provided the most momentum the project has ever had.”

Since the initial capture at Dolphin Quest Hawaii, the team has moved on to attempting to capture samples from dolphins in the wild in waters off Galveston, Texas. They will be returning to Hawaii in May to provide a demonstration of the technology to the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums.

The PHASM team is also having discussions with other potential partners that would greatly expand the project’s scope in the very near future, providing more opportunities to help marine mammals around the globe.

“It’s been a great start to the year,” Gassen said. “Hopefully, we can keep it up. A lot of work to do.”