supporting classroom success BOLZ HALL EDUCATIONAL LAB FACILITY DEPARTMENT

Of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering

Experiential learning is an important aspect of preparing our students for the transition towards industry and research. The hands-on opportunities this facility will offer will give our students the chance to operate state-of-theart equipment with operational oversight to ensure safety and proper use.

Goals of the restructure

The Bolz Hall Educational-Lab Facility restructure will consolidate and provide access at a single location unique state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for student experiential learning in the department and throughout the college.

Primary objectives include:

• Provide state-of-the-art facilities and equipment testing capability for students in department and college

• Provide safe operational oversight and services and overall facility management by MAE department personnel

• Provide support for high-quality experiential-learning opportunities and student projects within the department and college.

The educational-lab facility is also conveniently located near the college-wide student shop and makerspace in Bolz Hall.

Facility Capabilities

Bolz Hall Room 102 – Testing facilities (approx. 2,600 sq-ft)

• An Aerolab 22” x 22” subsonic wind tunnel facility (shown in blue)

• Multiple small-scale subsonic wind tunnel facilities (shown in red)

• A 2” x 2” blowdown supersonic wind tunnel facility (shown in white)

• High fidelity flight simulator stations

• An 800 sq-ft by 20’ high-bay flying arena and flexible testing, and instructional space

Bolz Hall Room 103 – Model prototyping and equipment specialties (approx. 1,000 sq-ft)

• A 2-axis CNC hotwire table

• Composite vacuum curing stations and autoclave

• Flexible workstations and student project material storage

• Air compressor and air storage tanks (Rm 104)

• Lab Supervisor Office (Rm 106)

• Priority access to the college-wide student shop and makerspace

Campaign goals

The Educational Lab Facility restructure will significantly increase the efficiency in supporting projects, and managing and teaching experiential learning curriculum.

The lab will provide a centralized location for the hands-on curriculum throughout MAE, offer expanding capabilities of other engineering programs within the College, and provide the potential for outreach efforts to academic institutions where experiential learning and support activities are limited.

Student Impact

The Aerospace Engineering (AE) Program at Ohio State has its roots embedded in experiential learning with national recognition. The program provides high-quality experimental learning opportunities throughout its entire curriculum, culminating in the student’s senior year with course sequences focused on professional practice. Additionally, the department supports multiple extracurricular student organizations that compete nationally with high success rates, such as solar car, remote-controlled aircraft, autonomous drones, and high-altitude rocket launches.

The commitment the program makes to the hands-on learning opportunities impacts every student in the aerospace engineer program, on-the-order of 400 students, throughout the entire academic career. Your support in developing the new Bolz Hall Educational Lab Facility and flight sciences will provide the department the opportunity to expand and grow its student-based experiential learning legacy, impacting both aerospace engineering students and students throughout the Department and College!