NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – The College of Engineering at Tennessee State University is continuing a decade-long partnership with the Boeing Company when it was recently announced that Boeing would provide nearly $600,000 worth of funding for the College to help address some of the aircraft challenges facing the company.

Boeing recently approached the College about additional capabilities of the faculty, receiving three research projects to help solve some key issues within the organization, with each project having the potential for continuous funding after the first year. The three projects complements the renewal of the Boeing Aircraft Seat Design Project of $280,000, with a total funding award of $589,000.00.

“The opportunity for academia and industry to collaborate to solve industrial problems makes the company more competitive, and enhances the quality of our engineering programs for students and faculty,” said Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, Dean of the College of Engineering.

The three research projects the college will be involve in include using artificial intelligence for the development of aircraft propulsion controls; developing resilient control mechanisms to mitigate cyber attacks in engineering embedded systems; and developing mathematical models for energy harvesting and storage.

“These grants represents the dedication of the faculty for research, and their commitment to enhance the programs in attracting students to the College of Engineering,” added Hargrove. “Our 10-year relationship has resulted in the hiring of graduates, student internships and co-ops, and research projects that develops faculty expertise and student knowledge.”

This is the second grant in as many months received by the College of Engineering. Back in September, several faculty members from the Department of Mathematical Sciences were recipients of a $300,000 research grant to promote research in applied mathematics and curriculum development. The grant was the result of a collaborative proposal submitted by the faculty members and funded by the National Science Foundation.