The McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research is a new center that will be located across from the College of Engineering at Catawba and Assembly streets.
Named after South Carolina astronaut Ronald McNair, the center will look into developing new lightweight composite structures, as well as advanced robotic technology for aircraft components.
The College of Engineering and Computing, which includes the aerospace engineering major, has long been involved in the community.
The college is home to 1,962 undergraduate students as of Fall 2012, and 522 graduate students. It was ranked first in the state for research productivity by the National Resource Council.
Its outreach program includes college tours and summer camps centered around engineering and computing; as well as Project Lead The Way, which is a national alliance of middle schools, high schools and colleges in the area that interact with professionals in the field.
Notable alumni of the College of Engineering and Computing include Andrew H. Card Jr., a former White House Chief of Staff, and John Blackmon, a former North Carolina state senator.
USC is the only school in the state which offers such an integrated curriculum, along with a master’s degree in aerospace engineering, which is one of four new degrees now offered by the university. A master’s degree in engineering is also a new addition, and master’s and bachelor’s in systems design are pending.
The McNair Center’s offices had previously been located in the SCRA/USC facility, but now it has been able to lease additional space, which will house the Advance Composite Materials Research Center.
Students featured on the McNair Center’s webpage on the USC website work at places such as the South Carolina Department of Transportation as a bridge designer.
While the university is a recipient of the Carnegie Research Foundation’s designation as top-tier in research, this center is only an addition to our nationally recognized colleges and majors. Our undergraduate international business major is No. 1 according to US News & World Report.
The University of South Carolina has long been a flagship of the state, a leader in innovations across the board, and the McNair Center will work to give more students the training and support they need to contribute to the rapidly growing aerospace industry.
It’s vitally important that we begin training students to enter this workforce, as it is feeding our economy with companies like Boeing. Students who graduate from USC with a degree in aerospace engineering could go on to enter over 200 manufacturing and defense businesses across the state.
College is meant to give students opportunities to make an impact in their chosen field by educating them and providing them with the tools they need to conquer their industry. When it comes to the McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research, this could mean changing the world.