The Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) has a Capstone program that is dedicated to community outreach effort in support of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math disciplines (STEM). Students at the University level may participate in an end-of-semester project (i.e., Capstone Project), typically during their final semester. The MMAC Capstone Program is an opportunity for MMAC organizations to solve problems that might otherwise go unresolved due to a shortage of labor and/or higher priority issues. Organizations that are interested in participating are simply required to submit approved STEM related projects through the Quality Systems and Business Resources Staff (AMC-3) office and, if selected, participating universities will assign your project to a student group to provide a solution. The FAA benefits by augmenting their capabilities at no cost, while providing unique career opportunities for students. Each student benefits by gaining exposure to real-life problems and by developing skills in problem definition, data analysis, identification of solution alternatives, and oral/written communication. It’s a win-win. Participation in the Capstone program means you can take great pride in the fact that your organization has provided a valuable learning opportunity and mentoring experience to STEM students at the beginning of their careers.
Student oversight and mentorship is provided by both a university faculty advisor and a FAA supervisor/subject matter expert. The nature of the project could be a process that involves: business manufacturing, healthcare, product development, or logistics. Student teams could organize data and use analytics to uncover opportunities for improvement, gather data and develop an economic justification, apply statistical and optimization methods to redesign a process, or develop a decision-support system. Students might also assist with defining requirements for certain projects. Other examples of STEM areas of discipline include, Business Administration’s MIS Department, Computer Science, Telecommunications, Physics/Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Research and Statistics, Science/Biology/Medical, Electronics and Communications, Automation Engineering, Physical Environment Engineering, Environmental Control Technologies, and Drafting & Design.
Currently, five universities are participating in a Capstone partnership with the Aeronautical Center (University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City Community College, Langston University, and the University of Central Oklahoma).
If your organization has projects they would like to tackle with a team of young, enthusiastic, and intelligent students, please contact Edward Drake at (405)954-7327.
