Calhoun Discovery Program

CEO of Boeing David Calhoun(‘79) and Calhoun Scholars presenting at Winter Showcase (December 2019)

Photo / Sumaiya

Haque

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Sumaiya Haque

Established by a 20 million dollar donation from David Calhoun ’79, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing, the innovative Calhoun Discovery Program (CDP) at Virginia Tech engages electrical, computer, and industrial systems engineering students through reimagining education and providing a full tuition scholarship and $10,000 learning grant. From inspiring collaboration among students across various majors, to providing networking opportunities with faculty, industry, and non-profit partners, Calhoun scholars will graduate from Virginia Tech with the growth mindset and diverse tools needed to succeed in the real world while living out our motto Ut Prosim, “That I May Serve.”

Despite the program being new at Virginia Tech, the impact it has had on students’ growth and development has proven the importance of rethinking how we approach engineering education. While the Transdisciplinary Studio provides the avenue for engineers to collaborate with Virginia Tech students spanning multiple majors and skill sets, the interdisciplinary general education courses, which serves as an alternative for the traditional pathway requirements, challenges students to work outside their comfort zone in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

A clear example of how the Calhoun Discovery Program opened the door for students to immerse themselves at Virginia Tech and beyond is William Poland, an Honors College sophomore from Blacksburg majoring in electrical engineering.

Poland’s journey began during the second project of his freshman year transdisciplinary story, where he worked with fellow

Poland working in the Calhoun Studio (2020) Photo / Sumaiya Haque

“I am not just confined to being around Engineers all the time. I also get insight from business, CMDA, communications, and many other academic fields. As Engineers, we are stuck most of the time only around each other and not given the broader perspective we need to tackle on the real world.”

Poland

scholars on additive manufacturing. One of the best parts of the hands-on curriculum the Calhoun Discovery Program provides is the opportunity for students to work on technical projects and present to companies like Boeing and General Electric as soon as they step foot on campus. By only his second semester at Virginia Tech, Poland was able to convince industrial systems engineering and manufacturing professor, Dr. Kong, to let him participate in research on robotics and 3D printing.

“There is no way this opportunity would have been possible as a freshman without the exposure to teamwork, presentation, and transdisciplinary work that Calhoun provided for me.”

From there, the spiral of success and opportunities flooded Poland’s way. Due to the vast skills Poland acquired from Calhoun, he was able to secure an internship following his freshman summer with a Department of Defense grant, which focused on manufacturing. Now, Poland is currently researching with a graduate research assistant on a Digital Factory project.

In addition to training him to thrive, Poland believes that the best part of the Calhoun Discovery Program is the emphasis on combining various disciplines to solve world problems. “I am not just confined to being around Engineers all the time. I also get insight from Business, CMDA, Communications, and many other academic fields. As Engineers, we are stuck most of the time only around each other and not given the broader perspective we need to tackle on the real world.”

The last two years of the Calhoun Discovery Studio involve Workcells, which according to the program’s website,“aims to integrate the advancement of Industry 4.0 with sustainable and equitable development through collaborative socio-technical innovation.” Through this opportunity, Poland and other Calhoun Scholars will work closely with partners like CAT, Capital Youth Empowerment, Boeing and many more.

Poland’s story, as well as many others, aim to re-evaluate how institutions currently approach Engineering Education. The Calhoun Discovery Program is only one example of how Virginia Tech is striving to be forward-thinking and deliver a multitude of chances to be prepared for success in the professional world.

“Poland concluded, “It’s given me a lot of opportunities I might have not learned about that have allowed me to become well rounded, and as a result, I believe it will make me an even better engineer.”

“There is no way this opportunity would have been possible as a freshman without the exposure to teamwork, presentation, and transdisciplinary work that Calhoun provided for me.”

Poland

Calhoun Studio from the outside looking in. Photo / Sumaiya Haque

Burruss from the Drillfield. Photo / Sumaiya Haque