Undergraduate groups help students launch careers
Aurora Flight Sciences engineer Justin McClellan (’04) (right) discusses unmanned aerial vehicle flight platform design with UAV group leaders Brian Serra (Aero’11), Dane Sarcone (ME’11), Wijnand Schoemakers (Aero’11) and Ryan Hunter (ECE’11).
By Mark Dwortzan
Their mission: to design, build and fly a fully autonomous aircraft that can penetrate a mock security facility undetected and return with a flash drive containing secret military plans— all within 10 minutes. Huddled in their office beneath two wooden airplane models and a makeshift blimp, President Ryan Hunter (ECE’11) mulls possibilities for autonomous, onboard software algorithms and sensors; Vice President Dane Sarcone (ME’11) explores options for the flight platform; and Treasurer Patrick Pease (ME’11) strategizes on how to integrate the software and sensors into the flight platform. These students are not dorm-room entrepreneurs, but rather leaders of a new College of Engineering undergraduate student organization, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) group, which launched in September with the goal of competing in the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) 2011 International Aerial Robotics Competition. To accomplish their mission, they’ll spend the next two years not only studying and advancing leading-edge technology, but also managing project timelines, budgets and 75 undergraduate members. “The flight platform grants practical experience to those interested in mechanical and aerospace engineering, while the necessary autonomy grants experience to computer engineers in ways that enhance the undergraduate curriculum,” says Hunter. “This kind of real-world, hands-on experience is something employers seek in candidates.”
Twenty-one ways to launch Engineering practice. Project management expertise. Career preparation. All three educational benefits can be obtained, in different measures, at any of 21 undergraduate student organizations based at the College of Engineering. [See inset on page 7.] Some, such as the UAV group, appeal to highly specific interests; others, such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, are diversity-based; still others, like the Biomedical Engineering Society, are local chapters of national professional organizations or honor societies.
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