7/9/97
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University's Avionics Engineering Center will host the Summer quarterly meeting of the Joint University Program in Air Transportation Thursday and Friday (July 10 and 11) in Room 103 Stocker Center on the Athens campus. The meeting marks the 25th year of the program, which is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA.
The Joint University Program (JUP) is a collaborative effort between faculty and students at Ohio University, Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each university focuses on a different area of aviation research and development, which is sponsored by grants from the supporting agencies.
Recent work at Ohio University has centered on the use of Global Positioning System technology in the development of new instrument landing systems for aircraft. Research areas include the development of software-based GPS receivers that have greater flexibility and fewer interference problems than conventional receivers.
Through the JUP at Ohio University, students in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science work with faculty to develop of new uses for GPS technology.
JUP members meet quarterly, with each university or agency hosting a session. During the meetings, students in the program present reports on their research progress, said Robert Lilley, director of the Avionics Engineering Center and professor of electrical engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology.
"One of the reasons we like the program so much is that it is specifically designed to involve students, both undergraduates and graduates, in real-world research," Lilley said. "These students must give reports on work in progress, just as engineers would be expected to do in industry. It gives the students the opportunity to develop both their technical and communication skills and to learn how to discuss and defend their work in a professional manner."
In addition to research presentations, the meeting will include talks by Frank Frisbie, former associate administrator for the FAA, Anne Harlan, director of the FAA Technology Center in Atlantic City, N.J., and others involved in the JUP program.
FAA representatives also will present JUP members with the FAA Excellence in Aviation award, a new award that recognizes contributions to air transportation research and technology. The award was announced earlier this spring.