The research, which receives funding from the National Science Foundation, is being conducted as a collaborative effort with two Lehigh University professors.
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Students walk past the Old Main building on the Penn State campus in State College.
The university was one of 81 entities to apply in 2012 for federal permission to fly the unmanned aircraft, according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights organization.
Among those listed, Penn State was one of 35 other colleges and universities to apply and the only listed applicant from the state.
In addition to county and state level agencies, federal entities such as the U.S. Navy, Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of State were also featured on the list.
Langelaan said the university's request to use drones was solely based upon research and not in any way related to surveillance. Specifically, the aircraft was intended to study the flight pattern and soaring abilities of albatrosses and would have been modeled after the bird itself with a wingspan of approximately 10 feet, he said.
"Really, we're trying to learn something about flight dynamics," said Langelaan.
The university was denied its request several months ago because it did not meet the permit's standards for public institutions, Langelaan said.
Penn State spokesperson Jill Shockey added that the university has had no previous history of using drones for research.
"There has not been and there is not currently research being done on unmanned flying drones by Penn State," Shockey said in an emailed response.
Langelaan said the research, which receives funding from the National Science Foundation, is being conducted as a collaborative effort with Lehigh University professors John Spletzer and Joachim Grenestedt.
As the ethical ramifications around drone usage continue to make their way into the public discourse, Langelaan said unsurprisingly he had received some raised eyebrows when the university's application was first announced.
But with cameras already plentiful in public places, there's really no need for an academic institution to implore the use of drones for matters of surveillance, he asserts.
"If you take a look at that list, out of the 81 applicants, 36 of them are universities," said Langelaan. "That's a pretty strong clue that there are a lot of people trying to do research with those planes."
Discussion of domestic drones breached the state capitol in Harrisburg last week as state Rep. Angel Cruz, D-Philadelphia, announced his plans to reintroduce legislation requiring law enforcement agencies to seek authorization from a superior court judge before putting drones into the air.
"The purpose of my legislation is to protect Pennsylvanians from invasions of privacy by law enforcement officials," Cruz said in a Feb. 12 memo.
A bipartisan measure seeking to place regulative measures on domestic drone use has also appeared in Washington.
Last week, U.S. Reps. Ted Poe, R-Texas, and Zoe Lofgren, D-California, introduced legislation dubbed as "The Preserving American Privacy Act" which will require among other provisions that domestic drones be forbidden from being armed with weapons or explosives.
"Individuals are rightfully concerned that these new eyes in the sky may threaten their privacy," Poe said in a statement last week. "It is the obligation of Congress to ensure that this does not happen. Just because Big Brother can look into someone's backyard doesn't mean it should. Technology may change, but the Constitution does not."