JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst (LKE) and Drexel University recently renewed their Educational Partnership Agreement (EPA), extending Drexel’s participation in NAWCAD LKE’s Capstone Project Program and NAWCAD LKE’s recruitment from Drexel’s graduate pool.
The Capstone Project Program provides the opportunity for Drexel graduate students to solve Navy engineering problems. The program encourages students to identify, analyze and address technical and scientific challenges using innovative technologies.
Drexel offers graduate programs in electrical and computer engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM) to employees at NAWCAD LKE.
“Drexel’s participation in the capstone initiative has already produced several new engineers with unlimited potential,” said Kathleen Donnelly, NAWCAD LKE executive director. “Our goal is to tap into that potential and provide these students with real-world objectives that support our Naval Aviation mission. The projects these students contribute to have already benefited the Navy.”
One example of the capstone’s contributions to the Navy includes a robotic system for aircraft weapons transport, which was developed by a MEM team enrolled in the Capstone Project Program.
The program has also contributed to the success of its mentors, such as Dr. James Hing, Strategic Technologies Branch head in the NAWCAD LKE Mission Operations and Integration Department (MO&ID) Digital Engineering Division, and Dr. Ronald Poveda, research engineer in the MO&ID Digital Engineering Division. Poveda and Hing both taught as part of Drexel’s MEM program at NAWCAD LKE and Poveda contains to teach for Drexel.
In 2019, Hing received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is awarded to outstanding engineers and scientists with exceptional leadership potential in their respective fields.
“James is a three-degree graduate from Drexel,” said Haidy Oliveira, NAWCAD LKE education outreach coordinator. “He is just one example of the outstanding individuals who have been streamlined into careers here at Lakehurst. Now that the EPA with Drexel has been renewed, we know there are going to be many more up and coming minds joining the Fleet.”