JM
Jacob Miller
  • mechanical engineering
  • Class of 2017
  • Warsaw, N.Y.

Clarkson University Student Jacob Miller of Warsaw, N.Y., Flies High In Design/Build/Fly Competition

2014 Oct 1

Clarkson University graduate student Jacob T. Miller of Warsaw, N.Y., majoring in mechanical engineering, participated in Cessna/Raytheon Missile Systems Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition.

The DBF team, part of the University's SPEED (Student Projects in Engineering and Design) program, recently returned from competition in Wichita, Kan., where they placed 19th out of 80 teams.

Bob Davis is the director of the SPEED Program, which has 15 extracurricular teams in which students work on projects that hone their engineering and design skills. The teams choose their leaders, work up a budget and figure the logistics of their projects.

"This provides hands-on education in addition to all the theory they study," Davis says. "About 300 students participate on these teams. That's comparable to our number of athletes, so these students get team-based experience as well."

Every year, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics invites students from across the world to participate in the Cessna/Raytheon Missile Systems Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition, which is held at sponsor sites in Kansas and Arizona.

This year, all teams were required to design a bush plane that could take off in less than 40 feet, carry a variety of payload weights, and reach certain speeds. There also was a simulated medical evacuation flight with unusually shaped cargo, and a rough taxi test.

Clarkson University's SPEED program promotes multidisciplinary project-based learning opportunities for more than 300 undergraduates annually. SPEED projects involve engineering design and analysis, fabrication, and the enhancement of professional competencies, such as budget management, effective teamwork and communication skills. SPEED receives its primary financial support from General Electric, Snap-On Inc., Bechtel Corporation, and Cives Steel Company. SPEED was recognized with a Boeing Outstanding Educator Award for its exceptional contribution to improving undergraduate engineering education.

Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and the health professions, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.