August 26, 2024 by SME Communications Two decades ago, a series of formal meetings at SME’s WESTEC 2004 – hosted by Boeing – brought together SME members, prime contractors in the aerospace industry, college educators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). This discussion was a result of informal meetings hosted by Northrop Grumman the previous year, as contractors expressed motivation to refresh their employee base with capable, newly graduated employees due to the increasingly aging workforce, costs of internal training, and the application of new product technology and highly specialized manufacturing methods. But in 2004, the group set out to answer the question, how can we ensure the current curricula supports the sector’s needs? In evaluating the applicable skills of recent graduates, consensus was reached that academia and industry were not aligned and it was determined that applying for Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants through the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) was the best path forward to bridge the gaps. The NSF-ATE program forges partnerships between academic institutions and industry to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians in high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy. Collaboration was key in applying for funding, with formal letters coming from the prime contractors expressing commitment to actively support the initiatives, endorsement from SME as the leading professional association in the industry, participation from educational institutions, technical expertise from SME member companies, and assistance in forming the Industry Advisory Council from the Aerospace Automation Consortium (AAC) – a group of prime contractors, automation system suppliers, educational institutions and professional societies originally launched at WESTEC 2003. Three initiatives were ultimately funded* by NSF-ATE grants totaling over $2.8 million: From 2005 – 2010, the Advanced Aerospace Education Initiative at El Camino College From 2005 – 2008, the Composites Manufacturing Initiative at Cerritos College From 2010 – 2014, the Advanced Manufacturing Education Initiative at El Camino College and Butler College *NSF funding applied to the educators’ efforts only. When coupled with additional industry support and engagement during the program’s development, total investment would be over $6 million. As a result of the initiatives, new curricula were developed and made available to over 50 colleges and universities, new training modules were created for existing course integration, and training workshops were conducted for educators and industry trainers. These outcomes continue to reflect the ever-changing needs of the aerospace sector and manufacturing industry to this day. Beyond these broader successes, El Camino College and Hawthorne High School developed partnerships with Northrop Grumman Space Systems in the areas of manufacturing engineering training and certifications, and graduate apprenticeships that have led to employment. These successes would not be possible without the participation of key current and former SME members, and educators: Chapter 153 Ron Way, Dean, El Camino College, Member Since 2011 J. Michael Kabo, Associate Dean, CSU Northridge George (Nick) Bullen, Technical Fellow, Northrop Grumman, SME Fellow, Member Since 2010 Ronald Gill, Principal Manufacturing Engineer, Boeing, SME Honorary Member, Member Since 1992 Marty Mechsner, Chief Engineer, Schobers Machine and Engineering, Member Since 2003 Chapter 233 Terry L. Price, Department Chair, Cerritos College, Former Member David Champa, Director MTorres, USA, Former Member NSF Grant Academic Program Directors John Anderson, Professor – Oregon Institute of Technology Bradley Harriger, Professor – Purdue University Partnerships with like-minded organizations also contributed to National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing USA PLTW (Project Lead The Way) FIRST Robotics SME SAE International SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) UAW (United Auto Workers) A special thank you to the academic institutions for their support: El Camino College, California Cerritos College, California Oregon Institute of Technology, Oregon California State University – Northridge, California Sinclair Community College, Ohio Wichita Technical College, Kansas Butler Community College, Kansas Purdue University Aerospace, Indiana And gratitude to the aerospace and manufacturing industry supporters: The Boeing Company Lockheed-Martin Northrop Grumman Bell Helicopter Rolls-Royce Aerospace – USA Schobers Machine and Engineering Alcoa Fastening Systems Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) Spirit AeroSystems Vought United Technologies
