The Low-altitude Environmental Analysis Dirigible (L.E.A.D.) is a “floating classroom” that will create hands-on research opportunities for hundreds of undergraduates and allow for datasets to be collected each year that will be used by many more students in 4 colleges.

The 60-foot non-rigid airship will be used as an environmental research and monitoring platform for a myriad of educationsl applications and will facilitate undergraduate inquiry in a range of disciplines including Geography, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urban Planning, and Agricultural and Natural Resources.

The UD airship, funded by alumna Rachel Ledbetter, ‘44, is dedicated in memory of her grandfather, Thomas Tustin Cloward, a proud Delawarean who once worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The University of Delaware is honored to be the recipient of Mrs. Ledbeter’s generosity, which will benefit students and faculty for years to come.