Articles compiled by Keaton S. Ziem, Digital Managing Editor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Largest Class Ever Expected this Fall
Almost 900 new Embry-Riddle students will arrive late August, pushing the total enrollment to 3,000 —the most students the campus has had since opening in 1978. This incoming class includes the largest percentage of female enrollees, as well as the highest academic profile (GPA and SAT scores) in campus history. Fifty of these new incoming students are from right here in the Prescott area — also a record.
“I think the STEM Center and Planetarium, as well the creation of the STEM Outreach position in general, has raised local awareness and helped expose people to our campus,” said Bryan Dougherty, Dean of Enrollment Management. “We also offer generous scholarships to high achieving local students.”
The University now offers 26 undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the Prescott campus.
“We love having members of the community visit our campus,” said Communications Director Jason Kadah. “Walk around, have lunch at one of our restaurants, visit the planetarium, take in an athletics event, come out for our free aviation history presentations — we want the community to get to know us and vice versa.”
Student Athletes Soar on the Field and in the Classroom
It was an amazing year for Embry-Riddle athletics. The Eagles won six conference championships and Jordan Bramblett was crowned the NAIA Men’s National Champion in the marathon. Every team competed in their conference championship tournaments for the first time in school history, and all but one competed in their championship. Nineteen Eagles were selected as NAIA All-Americans, and women’s cross country, men’s basketball and women’s basketball had their first-ever All-Americans this season.
All of these accolades helped the Eagles secure their fifth straight Commissioner’s Cup, which is awarded to the California Pacific Conference’s top-performing institution. Additionally, Director of Athletics Jaime Long won the Athletic Director of the Year award for the second year in a row.
Embry-Riddle students excel both on the field and in the classroom. ERAU tripled its total number of Academic All-Americans, landing six compared to just two over the school’s history. The Eagles also carried a 3.48 cumulative GPA throughout the year, and 50 student-athletes were named Daktronics Scholar Athletes.
The 2019-20 season gets underway in August when both Cal Pac Champion Women’s Soccer and Volleyball look to defend their titles. Our student athletes appreciate and thank the people of the tri-city area for their continued support!
Expanding the Aviation Workforce with Boeing Scholars
Twenty-two highly accomplished students will receive generous scholarships as part of a strategic effort to expand and diversify the aviation workforce. The Boeing scholarships were established to help students interested in pursuing degrees in aviation science, aircraft maintenance and other fields at Embry-Riddle — the world’s premier aviation and aerospace institution.
Supported by a $3-million endowment from Boeing, the scholarships will be made available to all students — with a focus on increasing the number of women, underrepresented minorities and military veterans and their dependents enrolled at the University.
The inaugural cohort of scholarship recipients was selected based on academic achievements as well as demonstrated financial need. Each scholarship ranges from $5,000 to $7,500, to be awarded annually for two years.
“The Boeing scholarships at Embry-Riddle will allow academically successful underrepresented students and veterans to pursue a university degree, gain critical aviation skills and ultimately help diversify the industry,” said Dr. P. Barry Butler, President of Embry-Riddle. “At a time when we are facing a global shortage of aviation professionals, it is critically important to widen the talent pipeline. It is an honor to partner with Boeing to enrich and enhance the aviation workforce.”
Students Design Camera Mount for International Space Station
A team of seven aerospace engineering students designed and produced a camera-attachment system for the International Space Station (ISS) and were selected to participate in NASA’s Micro-G NExT challenge in Houston, Texas in early June.
Project CAM (Camera Attachment Mechanism) was devised to assist astronauts venturing into the vacuum of space by providing additional camera coverage during extravehicular activities (EVA) beyond standard helmet-camera attachments, which provide limited views of EVA to mission control.
The team was invited to NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab to demonstrate Project CAM’s functionality in a testing pool designed to simulate the zero-gravity conditions of space. The challenge included collaboration with NASA engineers and astronaut candidates to gain feedback on the system’s design.
“The highlight was testing our design after two semesters of preparation,” said Project CAM Team Lead Daniela Baroni. “We learned how to work with a team to create a fabricated design on schedule and have an outside person test it underwater with 5 minutes of briefing time. Meeting real astronaut candidates was really cool, too.”
Flight Team Finishes Strong at National Competition
In the most important annual contest for college aviators — the Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) competition — the Golden Eagles Flight Team placed third in the nation, excelling in many of the individual flight and ground events.
SAFECON, presented by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA), included 350-plus contestants from 30 elite collegiate flight teams. Students participated in 23 different flight and ground events, including ground-based activities and flying tests.
Winners of 12 national championships, the Golden Eagles had notable accomplishments to complement their third place SAFECON Championship finish.
The team took first in the Ground Events Championship. In the Aircraft Recognition competition, Golden Eagles took the top four rankings — Brian La Fetra, first; Colin Ho-Tseung III, second; Jason Fung, third; and Anthony Platt, fourth.
Team captain Ryan O’Connor tied for first in the Power-Off Landings competition and placed second in Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation, with teammates Joshua Wiese and Benjamin Lamer in the top five. O’Connor was also recognized as Regional Top Pilot.
Karl Neserke took first in Computer Accuracy, with teammate Colin Kennedy placing second. Trevor White was named Outstanding Team Member.
The Prescott Golden Eagles were assisted by coach Bob Moser, assistant coach Shaun Shephard, coach and team mechanic Farrell Harris, volunteer coach/photographer Stephen Anderson and faculty advisor Dr. Juan Merkt.
