SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 22, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The University of Utah College of Engineering has announced a partnership with the U.S. Air Force to create learning opportunities for students.
The partnership allows university faculty and students to work more closely with Air Force researchers on a wide range of topics, including data analytics, machine learning for materials discovery, prosthetics, nuclear engineering, and additive manufacturing, according to a news release from the College of Engineering.
Air Force personnel also will work with university officials to develop new educational programs, the release states.
University researchers will gain access to otherwise unavailable resources from the Air Force, including state-of-the-art equipment, facilities and expert knowledge, according to the news release.
The agreement also provides opportunities for Air Force personnel to pursue certificates and master’s degrees through online programs offered by the university, including the Online Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
University faculty also has expertise in areas of interest to the Air Force, said College of Engineering Dean Richard Brown.
“This educational partnership will help our faculty and Air Force researchers become better acquainted, which will lead to more joint research,” Brown said. “We also want their people to be more involved with our students. The partnership will be mutually beneficial.”
Brig. Gen. Richard Gibbs, commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, called the partnership “a great opportunity for the Air Force to find ways to transform our operations to better and more efficiently sustain our weapons systems and components in support of national defense.”
University officials say several faculty members have conducted or are now conducting research supported by the Air Force, including projects to help clean up space debris orbiting Earth, and research on the use of machine learning and multi-scale modeling for aircraft materials.
The agreement, which officially launched over the summer, is scheduled to last five years. A signing ceremony celebrating the agreement was held Friday in the university’s Warnock Engineering Building.
