Aviation Center to Lead Education, Research Initiatives
The Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies has been formed in partnership with NetJets, a leading provider of business aviation fractional aircraft ownership services, to conduct aviation policy research and to enhance the university’s academic and outreach activities.
Since 1917, Ohio State’s aviation program has been instrumental in various aviation research and education initiatives such as engine design, professional pilot training, airport and airline management, and air traffic systems analysis, as well as advanced aircraft applications such as glass cockpit design.
Today, the Center for Aviation Studies is a leading center for aviation related research, education and scholarship. Its mission is to incorporate engineering, business and behavioral philosophies into a multi-disciplinary approach to the many components of the aviation industry, supporting world-class academic degree programs, flight education programs, research initiatives and outreach activities on local, regional, national and international levels.
“Aviation is one of the world’s most important, and most multi-disciplinary, sectors, greatly involving engineering and design principles, but also business, policy, socio-economic as well as cultural issues,” says Seth Young, director of the Center for Aviation Studies and associate professor of aviation. “The center is poised to be the conduit for all aviation-related research, education and outreach at Ohio State and has the great potential to be one of the world’s leading resources for aviation knowledge, contributing through this ever important sector to the economic viability of our state and our nation.”
The aviation and aerospace industry is among the largest economic drivers in the state of Ohio, Young says. For example, Columbus-based NetJets employs more than 6,300 professionals, including more than 1,600 in Ohio; serves nearly 3,000 businesses and individual customers locally and globally; and is a major consumer of aerospace industry providers such as Cessna, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Pratt & Whitney, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, and dozens of local vendors within Ohio and the nation. One of the first research activities conducted by the Center has been to quantify the economic impact of business aviation in Ohio. NetJets is directly supporting this research, as well as the center in general, in part through a generous $2 million directed gift to the university and its participation as the charter member of the Center’s Industry Oversight Board.
The center, in partnership with the Ohio State University Airport, will lead the university’s extensive aviation outreach and engagement program, including tours and programs that educate about 2,000 Ohioans a year. Staff and aviation students manage a vital high-school shadow program that equips participants with knowledge to help in their education and career choices. The center also will allow for collaboration to upgrade science, technology, engineering and mathematics after-school learning in the community. In addition, the center is the contact point for government and other entities seeking the aviation industry expertise of our faculty, emeritus faculty and alumni.
