By: Michael Matthews I Published: March 24, 2025
Joe Martucci’s resume is quite impressive and includes such accomplishments as being an award-winning certified broadcast and digital meteorologist, a meteorologist for News 12 New Jersey, and he has received numerous accolades. He is a commercially licensed drone pilot, earning a Federal Aviation Administration license in 2020, but he has a new and exciting endeavor to add to his resume. Professor Martucci is now teaching a new class at Kean Ocean: Introduction to Drones.
Every Tuesday at 9:30, Professor Martucci instructs his students about the intricacies of drones.
“Joe Sarnoski, who teaches the drone class at the main campus, was pivotal in providing a good base for me to start with in terms of teaching. 50% of the class is lecture time, 30% is going out each week and flying the drone, with 20% taking a quiz on what we just learned,” Martucci said.
When outdoors, the class flies their drones all at once. According to the official website for Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) drones, the drones are known for their powerful flight performance, stable video transmission, excellent imaging features, and intelligent functions.
Professor Martucci reminds the students to watch out for each other so that they do not crash. He tells them that they can record themselves as they fly. He directs them as they get ready to fly, going over directions and precautions. Buzzing can be heard through the back of Kean Ocean campus as students look over with curiosity.
When asked about needing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s permission to fly the drones at Kean Ocean, Professor Martucci responded:
“To teach the class, no. I don’t need their permission to teach the class. We are in airspace that is clear to take off in.”
Discussing the drones over Jersey and if people might see these and worry about their purpose, he laughed.
“I hope they understand that this is for educational purposes, but if anyone has a concern, they can always contact the local authorities, but the local authorities will come back here and they’ll see that we’re teaching… the drone class,” said Martucci.
Martucci mentioned Triax 57, a streaming channel based in Atlantic County that covers Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May Counties. Triax 57 is a “new type of multimedia experience for local programming,” that is a streaming network from the Jersey Shore. Martucci is the chief meteorologist for Triax 57.
“This is where I do most of my media work,” said Martucci.”
He also owns a website called Cupajoe.live which specializes in “accurate, locally-focused weather services and aerial footage.”
Professor Martucci believes it is important for students to learn about drones.
“Drones are the way of the world. Roughly 12% of the Air Force’s fleet of aircraft are unmanned [drones], according to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft, and grow quickly each year. Police have used this technology for crowd control, Beach Patrols increasingly use drones as well,” said Martucci.
Students are enjoying Professor Martucci’s class. One of his students, Mia Lafrenier commented:
“I like that Kean Ocean now offers a drone class because droning is becoming more popular and is useful for a multitude of reasons. It can be used for engineering majors, environmental, agriculture, and personal use. Learning how to use new technology will benefit me in my future endeavors. We are learning a lot about aviation from regulations to reading METAR codes.”
Another student of Professor Martucci, Ryan Knox, also added a comment:
“I like that I’m learning about something that connects to my major. I’m a senior environmental science student and I have learned about the use of drones in the environmental field in my other classes. They can be a less intrusive method for monitoring vulnerable areas…in this class, we are learning hands-on experience with operation drones as well as the regulations, safety concerns, weather conditions, and airspace rules one must understand to ensure they can fly a drone safely and legally. This course is in preparation for a certification that is required by law to commercially fly drones.”
Professor Martucci enjoys being in different places.
“I like doing a couple of different things. I like putting on my teaching hat,” said Martucci.
He was also able to confirm that the same class will be available next spring.
“We will definitely have it in the spring of 2026! Dean Adams is working on a potential follow up course for students to take in the Fall.”