Message from the Dean: Summer 2022
We are in full planning mode for the fall semester and have many exciting updates and announcements to share with you!
Our students, faculty, and staff have been very busy!
Our Kent State Xtreme Robotics Team, also known as the Kent State XBots, traveled to Norwalk, Connecticut, and fought their way to the semifinal round at the Norwalk Havoc Robot League (NHRL) Robot Combat League! Congratulations to the Kent State Xbots and their battlebot, Big-ish!
Our Kent State Precision Flight Team placed 12th at SAFECON 2022, the highly-competitive national competition of the 28 largest flight programs in the United States hosted by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA). Our team had a great week and I was even able to fly to KOSU and watch the team participate in the Message Drop event!
We have also been excited to host community organizations (Leadership Portage County and the STEAM Leadership Cadre of Summit County) and showcase the global impact of our aeronautics and engineering education and research. Our goal is to engage, collaborate, and partner with community organizations to provide insider access and experiences to the exciting education and research we are piloting!
At the time of writing this message to you, we have two student organizations that are right in the middle of two very exciting competitions!!
- Alex Johnson and Laura Wilson are competing as the Flying Flashes piloting a Cessna Skyhawk 172SP in the Air Race Classic, the epicenter of women's air racing and is the ultimate test of piloting skills and aviation decision-making for female pilots of all ages and from all walks of life.
- Mitchell Bird, Jared Casey, Ean Hudspeth, Sydney Maller, Autumn Ohl, Isaac Samodell, Savannah Vinkler, and Matthew Zirckel traveled to New Mexico as the Kent State Rocket Team to compete in the Spaceport America Cup, the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition.
We cannot wait to see how our students do in their competitions and we are so excited to share an update with you in the next issue of this Enews!
Flashing forward to fall, we have a very exciting weekend planned in September - the A&E Expo is BACK and it is going to be a weekend full of Flashes and fun; Save the date - September 9 - 10th!
Friday, September 9th will kick off the weekend with the 10th Annual Dick Schwabe Golf Scramble sponsored by Gulfstream and hosted by the One Golf Three Alumni, followed by the CAE Alumni and Friends Awards Reception. Information about award nominations and purchasing tickets for the CAE Alumni and Friends Awards Reception can be found here.
Saturday, September 10th is going to be a day you won't want to miss! For the first time since 2019, we are excited to host the Aeronautics & Engineering Expo (A&E Expo)!
Features of the A&E Expo include activities for the young and young at heart, simulator rides and flights in Kent State Aircraft, and opportunities to experience robotics and drones. This year’s event brings more excitement in the initial planning phases and the planning committee is working on adding new and never-been-done-before activities to the day. For more information and to stay up to date, please visit the A&E Expo website!
Please do not forget to check in on the Aeronautics and Engineering Building expansion! We have a live stream of the construction so you can experience the progress as if you were right here with us!
I am so excited to see you at all the events and activities we have planned this fall!
Dare Mighty Things,
Christina L. Bloebaum, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
College of Aeronautics and Engineering