Discovery Launch Highlights Embry-Riddle’s Growing Visibility
OP-ED ARTICLE by John P. Johnson, Ph.D., President, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
On Feb. 24, six astronauts blasted off on the final mission of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery. One-third of that crew – Alvin Drew and Nicole Stott – were educated at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
For a long time, Embry-Riddle has been one of the best-kept secrets in American higher education. And yet our 100,000 alumni can be found in every corner of the aerospace world.
With the launch of Discovery, people are starting to take notice of our university.
Many are surprised to discover that we graduate more engineers than pilots. Our students are studying to be aerospace engineers, mechanical engineers, software engineers, and human factors specialists.
Our graduates work as space mission controllers and air traffic controllers. They manage airlines, airports, and aerospace companies. Six are astronauts – two of them women.
Last year we added two new Ph.D. programs – in aviation and in engineering physics.
Our professors are devising ways to harness electricity from the wind and ocean currents, testing low-emission aircraft fuel, and building a hybrid car for General Motors. They’re designing drones to monitor borders, traffic, crops, and weather. Others are devising better ways to board airliners, perform surgeries, and communicate in combat.
Faculty researchers are testing new technologies for the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen program to improve our nation’s air travel. Others are taking the pulse of Earth’s atmosphere with sounding rockets and sensing stations in Antarctica and Greenland.
Embry-Riddle people are engineering the future. They’re exploring new frontiers and solving problems, both in orbit and on Earth. Their ideas and applied research are entrepreneurial, adding to our knowledge base and creating jobs.
To have two alumni serving together in space is a landmark event for our university. Alvin Drew and Nicole Stott are a shining example of the quality of our alumni and of how far an Embry-Riddle education can take you. We congratulate them on a safe and successful mission.
