U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Kent State University on Monday, touring the College of Aeronautics and Engineering, and telling students that “the future of aviation leadership is in your hands.”
It was Secretary Buttigieg’s first visit to Kent State. He was accompanied by U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes, a 2007 Kent State alumna, whose 13th Congressional District includes the Kent State University Airport.
Buttigieg met with President Todd Diacon, Christina L. Bloebaum, Ph.D., dean of the College of Aeronautics and Engineering, and a contingent of students and professors from aeronautics, as well as a group of local officials including the mayors of Akron, Euclid and Reminderville in Northeast Ohio. He also toured the May 4 Visitors Center.
A bevy of drones swirling overhead greeted Buttigieg both outside the Aeronautics and Engineering building and inside its lobby, as students demonstrated their use and Dean Bloebaum explained how Kent State students were learning to use the cutting-edge technology.
He toured the building’s laboratories that support hands-on, simulated training in all three areas of air traffic control: tower, terminal radar approach control (TRACON) and en route.
The simulation workstations provide future air traffic controllers with the look and feel of an actual air traffic control facility. The space houses a $2 million air traffic control simulator that is identical to the equipment found in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) training center in Oklahoma City.
Training students in all three areas of air traffic control is part of the College of Aeronautics and Engineering’s systematic approach to education and professional development, to provide the best career possibility and preparedness to fill air traffic control positions in all areas.
During a question-and-answer session with students that followed his tour, Buttigieg told students that drone technology is important for its ability to solve problems, such as delivering food and supplies to remote areas where no roads exist.
The challenge, he said, is developing technology in such a way that it helps more than it hurts society so that it can solve economic concerns, climate concerns and equity concerns.
Buttigieg answered student questions on the future of space travel and said it would continue to become more commonplace and commercial, and the challenge was to make sure that travel is secure but also to ensure that safety does not limit innovation.
“The real reason this stuff matters is because it can solve the problems of society,” he said. “And that’s what really excites me about its potential.”
“I’m really rooting for you all,” Buttigieg told the students. “I wouldn’t want to leave without letting you know we’re hiring,” he added, encouraging students to apply for internships with the Federal Aviation Administration across the county.
Buttigieg recently has been touring the country talking about the federal transportation department’s ongoing mission to hire more air traffic control officers, to enhance aviation safety in the U.S.
Commenting after touring the college, Buttigieg said: “As cool as the technology is, the really memorable thing is the passion that you see in the students. You can just see it in their eyes.” He noted how Kent State students are going to be critical in whether America maintains its edge as the world leader of aviation technology.
President Diacon commented on the importance of Buttigieg’s visit because it acknowledges Kent State’s role in the development of an aeronautics workforce that is in great demand in the United States.
“I don’t think we have ever hosted a sitting member of the President’s cabinet and to be able to show off our outstanding Aeronautics program is the real indicator of how we are playing a leading role in workforce development in this area. Aeronautics is really leading the way,” Diacon said.
Bloebaum called the transportation secretary’s visit “phenomenal.”
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” she said. “It was wonderful for our students, faculty and staff. We demonstrated the forward-thinking technology we are teaching and advancing in our college. I think he was impressed, and he saw the relevance of everything we are doing and was excited about it.
Bloebaum also explained to Secretary Buttigieg how a $420,000 FAA grant awarded to Kent State in March, was being used to develop new drones and airplane technology to help engage high school students and educators across Northeast Ohio to spark their interest in aviation careers.
At Taylor Hall, Buttigieg stopped at memorials in the parking lot marking the places where students were killed on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine.
At the May 4 Visitors Center, Director Alison Caplan and several student workers led Buttigieg, Sykes and President Diacon on a tour.
Students taking part were Aphelion Schoemer, a senior environmental studies major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Jeremy Ritch, a graduate student in creative writing from Cleveland, Ohio; Emma Butera, a senior psychology major from Richfield, Ohio; and Zee Ringler, a senior anthropology major from Berea, Ohio.
Caplan explained to Buttigieg how every incoming first-year student at Kent State is required to learn about May 4.
“It’s important for us to share the story and for them to understand it,” Caplan said.