The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) is launching a new initiative to strengthen the aerospace workforce in North Texas, with a strong emphasis on non-destructive testing (NDT) and evaluation skills essential for modern aviation and composite structures. The program is supported by an ExLENT Program grant from the National Science Foundation and will formally launch on October 1.
Led by Shiyao Lin, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the initiative will create biannual training cohorts of students, veterans, researchers and industry engineers. The program is being developed in collaboration with Tarrant County College, the UTA Research Institute (UTARI), and aerospace company RECARO, with additional input from industry leaders Lockheed Martin and Ansys, Inc.
"This is very natural for us," Lin said. "The DFW area is very resourceful in the aerospace industry and STEM education, and we can facilitate the training and education of a broader spectrum of future aerospace engineers and technicians."
The training curriculum integrates virtual reality modules, immersive hands-on sessions, and collaborative learning, with a strong focus on composite manufacturing, NDT, and AI-enabled aerospace technologies. Students will also participate in a 2½-month summer internship to gain practical industry exposure.
Highlighting the importance of experiential learning, Lin added: "Our program will involve extensive hands-on training. This is extremely important for aerospace engineering because engineers are not only trained by textbook learning, but also—perhaps more importantly—by manufacturing materials, doing lab experiments, debugging codes and running simulations. Our cohorts will use computers for design, simulation and analysis and will go into labs and break samples to learn about evaluation and testing of composite materials."
NDT techniques are central to the program’s mission, ensuring that students develop the ability to evaluate structural integrity and reliability of advanced aerospace materials without causing damage. The initiative also plans to incorporate augmented reality tools for enhanced training delivery.
Co-principal investigators include assistant professors Rassel Raihan (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and Mahmudur Rahman (Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering), with Raihan noting: "We have created modules for composite manufacturing, and if we can use them successfully for manufacturing, we can build modules for other areas, too."
Recruitment for the first cohort is underway, with UTA and its partners aiming to build a self-sustaining pipeline of aerospace engineers and technicians trained in cutting-edge NDT and related skills—directly addressing industry workforce demands in one of the nation’s top aerospace hubs.
Reference: https://www.miragenews.com/pipeline-to-aerospace-careers-starts-at-uta-1540119/
