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Expanding the future of Aeronautics and Engineering
The grand opening of the new expansion to the Aeronautics and Engineering Building adds much-needed space for the study of emerging technologies
By Julie Miller, Kent State Magazine
Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering (CAE) celebrated a milestone in October with the grand opening of the new building expansion, located on the southwest side of the Aeronautics and Engineering Building on the Kent Campus. Construction began in 2021 and was completed in time to receive a record number of new aeronautics and engineering students for the 2023 fall semester.
“Expansion was absolutely necessary,” says Christina Bloebaum, PhD, dean of the College of Aeronautics and Engineering. “The college is larger than ever. We now have more than 1,280 students.”
University leadership, students, alumni, donors, faculty, staff, and special guests attended the opening event as part of Homecoming Weekend activities. More than 175 attendees participated in this special event, which included tours and student demonstrations.
The festivities began with a special space dedication and appreciation luncheon for representatives of the Timken Foundation of Canton, which contributed to this project. The building’s new Henry and Louise Timken Atrium was named in honor of the couple, who were pioneers in flight.
Henry and Louise Timken shared a fascination with aircraft and flying and were instrumental in establishing the Akron-Canton Airport. The couple owned several private aircraft, which they began purchasing in the 1930s. Henry Timken was among the first to purchase a privately owned jet, and subsequently owned a Learjet, which emboldened Louise Timken to become the first woman in the United States to be type-rated to fly a Learjet. [A type rating is an additional certification on a license that qualifies pilots to operate a particular make and model of an aircraft.]
Louise Timken earned a pilot’s license in 1943 and was active in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II. In 1965, she became the first woman to pilot her own private jet.
Kent State is proud to honor the Timken family's legacy in aviation through the many students whose futures will be forever brighter through the support of the Henry and Louise Timken Foundation of Canton.
Cutting-edge technology assists in the celebration
During the atrium dedication, a drone unveiled the Henry and Louise Timken Atrium plaque on the second floor of the new expansion.
Small, autonomous aircraft such as delivery drones and sky taxis will place new demands on the national airspace and global economy. Within the College of Aeronautics and Engineering, Kent State’s new Center for Advanced Air Mobility—directed by Marla Pérez-Davis, PhD, former director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland—is at the forefront of this emerging technology.
The new Center for Advanced Air Mobility fosters research, education, and collaboration between faculty, staff, and students in the Kent State community and external partners in government, academia, and industry to address the transformative field of advanced air mobility. It enables companies to test their designs and capabilities in flight, gathers data to inform rulemaking and policy to govern this emerging industry, and teaches students the tools they need to shape and manage the future of air transportation—with a particular emphasis on sustainability and clean energy.
Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a robot dog named Yimo delivered a pair of scissors to KSU President Todd Diacon. Yimo is used in research conducted in the Cognitive Robotics and AI Lab in the Bot Bunker under the direction of Rui Liu, PhD. The lab conducts cuttingedge cognitive robotics research—designing the “mind” for robotic and AI systems for seamless cooperation with humans. Robot mind involves cognitive models based on AI algorithms and theories from cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience.
New spaces, new opportunities
The building expansion adds more than 40,000 square feet to the existing building and features the Henry and Louise Timken Atrium, a space that will be used as a community collaboration space and to conduct unmanned aircraft research. The expansion includes adaptable classrooms and research labs as well as new areas for student engagement and hands-on learning.
Bot Bunker
The Bot Bunker is the foundation of automation for the College of Aeronautics and Engineering. The Robotics and Mechatronics Research Lab is the largest single lab in the building and is designed to support researchers in mechatronics, robotics, and cognitive robotics. Humanoid robots, AI systems, and autonomous mechatronic systems for medical applications are only a few of the key areas supported by this lab.
Cyber.domain
The cyber.domain area, on the second floor of the expanded building, is a collection of three teaching and research laboratories, all with an emphasis on the important area of cybersecurity engineering and computer engineering technology. The cyber.domain is critical to the academic progression of students pursuing these majors as they learn to fend off security issues before they occur and become experts in solving the unsolvable by mastering the art of computer systems and critical thinking.
Innovation Way
Innovation Way labs are located in a shared corridor on the first floor, with views from the atrium and main corridor. The corridor continues some of the lab facilities found in other sections of the building and includes a makerspace lab, a design and innovation lab, and a pattern and fabrication lab.
Foundry activities and the demonstration of processes that require exterior space can take place in a secure yard connecting the new addition and the existing building, which also connects the existing Materials and Processes Lab to the three new teaching labs.
The Runway
The Runway, located in the lower level, is home to three laboratories that support hands-on, simulated training in all three areas of air traffic control: tower, terminal radar approach control, and en route. The simulation workstations can be used to create any combination of tower, terminal, and en route controller positions, and provide future air traffic controllers with the look and feel of an actual air traffic control facility. This space houses a $2 million Air Traffic Control Simulator that is identical to the equipment found in the Federal Aviation Association’s training center in Oklahoma City.
