A Solid Foundation of Engineering at Embry-Riddle

Embry-Riddle Engineers Simulate Giant Wind Power Turbines

Engineers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are expanding their renowned expertise in flight simulation to an exciting effort that will eventually result in more wind-generated energy at a lower cost.

The project by Dr. Darris White, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and his team is part of a growing body of research by engineering faculty at Embry-Riddle to develop cleaner, more efficient power generation. Other initiatives at the university include the EcoCAR Challenge, a three-year GM-funded project to design more efficient automotive engine technologies, and partnership in the Florida Center for Advance Aero-Propulsion, for which researchers are investigating alternate power sources for jet aircraft.

Embry-Riddle was honored for its initiatives to attract and retain a cross section of students, especially females, to its degree programs in engineering, a field that is still predominately male, both at the university and nationwide.

“This national honor reflects positively on our university,” said John P. Johnson, president of Embry-Riddle. “I am very proud of our Office of Diversity Initiatives and College of Engineering for their successful efforts to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the college.” The Embry-Riddle initiatives have been remarkably successful in attracting and retaining female students to the engineering profession. Embry-Riddle enrolls and graduates more female aerospace engineering students than Georgia Tech and Texas A&M, the nation’s second and third largest programs combined. The diversity emphasis is also paying dividends in mechanical and civil engineering, where female enrollments and graduation rates are near 20 percent.