The Ohio Aerospace Institute is working to support education, research and development and digital innovation in the US state, its president and CEO John Sankovic said.

Explaining how the institute came to be formed, Sankovic told FINN at the Farnborough International Airshow in July: “We’re actually the first collaborative institute that NASA put together 33 years ago. So we actually sit on the grounds of the NASA Glenn Research Centre in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the oldest NASA centres.

“We have our own building there that was actually paid for in partnership with the state of Ohio. So we were put together with the support of Senator John Glenn and some of the other politicians in the state to be a bridge between the two government laboratories, the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, the NASA Glenn Research Centre in Cleveland, Ohio, and then tie those two together with our academic institutions, the PhD granting colleges in the state and then also with our massive industrial base.

“We’ve been very focused on industry our whole time. That’s why we’re here with the show with the companies that are here. And so it’s a privilege to be here.”

Leading partnerships

The Ohio Aerospace Institute has partnerships with many leading companies, including Rolls Royce, Safran, GE and Honeywell.

Commenting on the work they do, Sankovic said: “We work in three main areas. So we work with education at the forefront, and we’ve supported 1500 STEM students with scholarships, fellowships and internships, getting them actually working internationally. That’s making sure the workforce is there for the future.

“The other area of work is aerospace R&D. So PhD level researchers working in the government laboratories developing new technologies, and then collaborative work – exciting times working on a lot of engine technologies, that’s always been the forefront of our 33 years of existence.”

Digital developments

He added: “Now, moving that into the digital space … [with] industry partnerships in digital engineering, developing digital models all the way through from design and initial production, through operations and sustaining that activity.

“And then the other activity that’s very, very big is advanced air mobility. Ohio as a state is investing in advanced Air Mobility.

“We want to be the place where people test, we want to be a place where people then put down their companies to build those vehicles. And we also want to be the place where people use those vehicles.”
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