The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma is excited to welcome NORDAM as a significant contributor to the Aerospace Engineering Capstone Program. NORDAM gifted $5,000 to AIAA Design Build Fly (DBF), an Aerospace Engineering Capstone team. Because of this donation, the team members will receive an enhanced experiential learning experience while working on their project and finishing their aerospace engineering degrees.

“We are pleased to offer financial support for this worthy project, and equally excited to bring the insights and expertise of NORDAM’s own stakeholders as student design advisors,” said Bailey J. Siegfried, NORDAM Vice President of Global Marketing. “By lending our support to the Capstone Program, we’re continuing our commitment to collaborate with the community to inspire the next generation of aerospace leaders.”

Dr. Thomas Hays, AME Assistant Professor, is the current advisor of DBF and co-chair of the Aerospace Engineering Capstone Program. Like the students, he is more than ready to put the NORDAM donation to good use. The support from NORDAM has enabled the development of a small electric propulsion Dynamometer and the purchase of vacuum pump roll carts, and has also provided materials for DBF’s structural optimization and characterization study.

“The Dynamometer is presently being designed and created by AME students as a combination of independent study and capstone projects,” said Hays. “It will be ready for use by the 2016-2017 DBF team to measure real propeller and motor and battery performance in the L.A. Comp Subsonic Wind Tunnel at AME, enabling true-to-life characterization of propulsion system design space.”

In addition, the vacuum pump roll carts will be mobile assets used by the team to compact composite layups and experience industry level composite fabrication methods in the Aerospace Engineering Capstone Program. NORDAM’s funding also enabled an independent study project investigating weight optimal structural design through combined FEA and physical article testing. These are just three projects that are currently happening directly because of NORDAM’s support, with budget remaining for DBF materials, tooling and project support.

Along with the gift, NORDAM representatives will meet and advise the AIAA DBF capstone team for design reviews and for a final review at the end of the spring semester. On December 8th, the NORDAM representatives visited the team. Josh Giguiere, Raegen Siegfried and Holly Dyer met the team for a lunch meeting and a brief overview of the progress of their project. The next design review is scheduled for Thursday, February 18th.

“This donation and the relationship with NORDAM offers a direct improvement to the readiness and quality of the AME graduates that will benefit both NORDAM and the University of Oklahoma in the years to come,” said Hays.

Many thanks to NORDAM for supporting AME and the Aerospace Engineering Capstone Program!

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