As early as the late 1800’s Capstone projects have been a part of higher education. They are a means of enhancing the educational experience by utilizing practical, real-world applications for students to culminate an integrative learning experience. For years, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) in Oklahoma City has invested in Capstone program opportunities.
More recently, as the aviation community continues to face a critical workforce shortage impacting the FAA’s mission to ensure a safe and efficient aerospace system, the time is ripe for cultivating more Capstone initiatives. The Capstone program’s primary thrust is to create a workforce pipeline by matching students who are graduating with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based degrees to jobs within the FAA, and additionally to bridge the gap for students who have aged out of the STEM AVSED (Aviation and Space Education) K-12 programs. Our mission is to introduce students to the variety of careers available in aerospace, for them to learn about aviation, and to understand the importance that air transportation plays in our economy and society. The Aeronautical Center continues to be a key player in supporting and developing these initiatives.
MMAC CAPSTONE is a program in which undergraduate students participate in an end of semester design project, typically during their final semester of college. The FAA provides Capstone projects to participating university student groups. The FAA benefits by augmenting their capabilities at little or no cost, while providing one-of-a-kind career opportunities for the students. The Capstone program provides a unique chance for organizations to solve problems (that might otherwise go unresolved) by leveraging student knowledge. These projects offer meaningful opportunities for the FAA’s future workforce, for the students’ career path, and for STEM community outreach. On average, the MMAC currently hosts approximately 15 Capstone projects per semester. Organizations such as the FAA Academy, the Office of Facility Management, the Enterprise Services Center, Safety and Technical Training, the Air Traffic Organization, Technical Operations, and the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute have worked tirelessly to support the program. Capstone’s success is the result of many generous participants at the Aeronautical Center.
Just recently, there were 16 total project submissions for the spring 2023 semester. Among the numerous MMAC organizations, three distinct student groups presented their proposed solutions. FAA’s Diversified Franchise Acquisition Branch, the FAA Academy’s Technical Operations Training Division and the Office of Facility Management’s Operations & Maintenance Division were among those hosting a student Capstone project.
FAA project sponsors teamed up with students from the University of Oklahoma (OU) Price School of Business Management Information Systems, and the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) Mechanical Engineering Capstone teams. The primary purpose was to analyze alternatives and to provide recommendations. Members of the student teams collaborated alongside the FAA-sponsored teams to develop requirements and identify solutions to meet specific requirements. The projects validated (to federal employees) the benefits of helping students to better prepare for the future, using real world applications.
The Diversified Franchise Acquisition Branch hosted a software development/robotic process project with the University of Oklahoma. Nick Risi, FAA project sponsor, emphasized, "Our weekly workload report is pulled from the Procurement Information System for Management (PRISM) as well as outputs from Microsoft Excel. The managers use this to track status on acquisitions. As acquisitions are awarded, they fall off the report, and this leads to data errors on the new report." The desired end state is a robot or macro that will pull the report, compare it to a previous report, and accurately transfer all active data to a new report. As the requirements evolved during the discovery phase, the project split into two distinctive paths: One to support contract writing and the other, to support workload reporting, with help from nine Management Information Systems (MIS) student participants who developed the two solutions. "Nick Risi did a fantastic job of managing so many moving parts," said Capstone Program Manager, Edward Drake. Prior to presenting their solution, the students took an abbreviated tour of the Aeronautical Center to view the FAA Academy Air Traffic Division’s Tower Simulation System, and then onto a local data room to get a taste of real-world computer engineering.
Next, the FAA Academy’s Technical Operations Training Division student group worked on a model to help compare and evaluate the number of Academy instructors to the number of hours of instruction that can be provided. Current instructor staff size is approximately 120 people, and stakeholders need to know what they seek to gain or lose by adjusting staffing levels. Drake stated that "the Academy is always an engaged and active participant of the program, and their support has helped take the Capstone program to new heights."
The Office of Facility Management is another advocate within the Capstone program. The Office of Facility Management’s Operations and Maintenance Division has difficulty trying to determine when they need to pre-cool or pre-heat large buildings during winter and summer months, so they decided to submit this problem to the Capstone program. Kyle Daniel, FAA Project Lead, stated, "We are currently relying on human involvement for when we need to manually start and stop equipment outside of normal operating hours. We have historical knowledge to assist in these decisions, but we need to look at automating the process. This should result in energy savings plus optimized comfort."
The students were tasked with developing a programming solution that points the system in the right direction and reduces overall energy consumption, while still maintaining building comfort and protection. The system or process should be able to be used across the Center with several different buildings, taking into account the amount of time it takes to cool/heat a space at different ambient conditions. The students eventually recommended the parameters as to when and how the system should automatically turn on. The students were challenged with further constraints such as how the programming of the system must function within the current parameters ABS (JCI Metasys) and be easy to monitor and understand for the current CCMS operator and contract staff.
Daniel remarked, "…There were four very bright, young engineers involved in this Capstone project… I would highly recommend the MMAC Capstone program to other FAA and MMAC organizations and encourage them to consider sponsoring a project. The Capstone program provides students with practical experience and prepares them for the working world. At times there were challenges aligning everyone’s schedules, but the new hybrid work environment has effectively mitigated those challenges, utilizing a combination of face-to-face, teleconference, and virtual meeting options."
The performance period for each project runs concurrently with the student’s final semester, and during a typical semester, students have about 14 weeks to complete a project. However, some sponsors choose to vie for a two-semester sequence approach. In a two-semester sequence scenario, students build upon the knowledge and research from past student groups, which adds to the value received by the FAA and enhances the students’ experience by adding to the depth of the project. Otherwise the students would not have time during the shorter, one-semester sequence to create as robust of a product. Additionally, the university professor has more intimate knowledge of the project and its challenges that are used to better direct and enhance the learning experience. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
The MMAC Capstone outreach effort has a primary focus of building up the STEM workforce deficit and introducing budding students to the aerospace industry, (specifically, the FAA). This mission will continue to be the future of the Capstone Program. Drake states, "Capstone has endless possibilities, and we are excited to see where the program leads us; from mentoring opportunities to direct hire paths which address STEM job deficits. Program expansion ideas include engaging additional participating schools and FAA organizations; establishing post-graduation communication and follow-up; conducting student/career focused, guided tours of the Aeronautical Center; developing career education outreach opportunities, and synergistically connecting the Capstone Program to existing STEM programs. These ideas will fast forward the positive impacts and goals of the program - such as creating a direct pipeline of new talent." Spring classes are starting to wrap up and its already time to begin planning for Fall 2023 projects. If your organization has a project concept, and would like a team of passionate, intelligent students to work with, or if you would like to learn more about the program, contact Edward Drake at (405) 954-7327.
