Cincinnati Future: Inside UC's aerospace program

UC aerospace engineer talks about co-op, new frontiers

The blog Cincinnati Future spoke to University of Cincinnati professor Kelly Cohen about the future of aerospace engineering.

Cohen, interim head of UC's Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, told Cincinnati Future that UC graduates are shaping the future of air travel and space exploration.

Kelly Cohen

Kelly Cohen

UC has the nation's second-oldest aerospace engineering program. Two years after walking on the moon, astronaut Neil Armstrong came to UC to teach aerospace engineering.

UC's proud tradition continues with today's students, Cohen told Cincinnati Future.

"Weʼre a branch of mechanical engineers, but we donʼt work on the regular car. Regular cars donʼt get to supersonic speeds," Cohen said.

Cohen serves as the Brian H. Rowe endowed chair in aerospace engineering at UC. He co-founded the Cincinnati company Genexia that applies developments in artificial intelligence.

Aerospace engineering students are in high demand as private companies and public agencies push into new frontiers of driverless vehicles, drones and space exploration.

The department is growing fast, he said. Undergraduate enrollment in the department has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, Cohen said.

"Our students are relatively highly paid when they graduate because of the experience they have. There's a good demand for them," Cohen said.

Read the Cincinnati Future story.

Featured image at top: An F/A-18E Super Hornet takes off from the aircraft carrier USS George W. Bush. Photo/Bryan Valek/U.S. Navy

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