University of Dayton will help 'niche field' fill jobs
Mar.06/08 01:07
DAYTON — A University of Dayton center for
development of laser sensing technology intended to
improve on conventional radar also will spawn future
employees for the corporations helping to fund the
center, one of the corporate sponsors said Wednesday,
March 5. Lockheed Martin Corp., one of the six
defense contractors working with the Air Force to
help fund the university's Ladar and Optical
Communications Institute, looks forward to working
with the program's post-graduate students, said Doug
Pasquan, director of sensor programs in Lockheed's
engineering and technology unit.
UD officials expect the program to accommodate 12 students a year who are pursuing advanced degrees in physics or electro-optics, focusing on the laser radar or "ladar" technology. UD officials said the specialized ladar curriculum is among the first of its type nationally.
Finding students with that sort of specialty is a challenge for employers, Pasquan said during a dedication ceremony for the institute's new permanent home in UD's College Park Center building.
"It's a fairly niche field," he said.
The Air Force Research Laboratory was a driving force in establishing the institute, which was begun in October 2006 with a $3.2 million, three-year federal grant. The research is to benefit the Air Force in developing high-tech sensing systems using laser beams and cameras that can deliver three-dimensional images far more detailed than a blip on a conventional radar screen.
Processing of information from those images can help the military determine whether it is looking at a tank, enemy soldiers or other objects on a battlefield. The technology also could be used to assess the scenes of natural disasters to track stranded people, Pasquan said.
The sponsoring corporations will get access to the institute's research to commercially develop it. Agreements for how that "intellectual property" will be shared are being worked out, said Pasquan, a member of the institute's governing board.
Laser leadership
The Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Institute of Technology, the University of Dayton and six defense contracting companies are represented on the governing board of the Ladar and Optical Communications Institute.
The founding companies are Raytheon Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Textron Systems, Boeing Co., BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems.
Copyright, 2008, Cox Ohio Publishing. All rights reserved.
UD officials expect the program to accommodate 12 students a year who are pursuing advanced degrees in physics or electro-optics, focusing on the laser radar or "ladar" technology. UD officials said the specialized ladar curriculum is among the first of its type nationally.
Finding students with that sort of specialty is a challenge for employers, Pasquan said during a dedication ceremony for the institute's new permanent home in UD's College Park Center building.
"It's a fairly niche field," he said.
The Air Force Research Laboratory was a driving force in establishing the institute, which was begun in October 2006 with a $3.2 million, three-year federal grant. The research is to benefit the Air Force in developing high-tech sensing systems using laser beams and cameras that can deliver three-dimensional images far more detailed than a blip on a conventional radar screen.
Processing of information from those images can help the military determine whether it is looking at a tank, enemy soldiers or other objects on a battlefield. The technology also could be used to assess the scenes of natural disasters to track stranded people, Pasquan said.
The sponsoring corporations will get access to the institute's research to commercially develop it. Agreements for how that "intellectual property" will be shared are being worked out, said Pasquan, a member of the institute's governing board.
Laser leadership
The Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Institute of Technology, the University of Dayton and six defense contracting companies are represented on the governing board of the Ladar and Optical Communications Institute.
The founding companies are Raytheon Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Textron Systems, Boeing Co., BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems.
Copyright, 2008, Cox Ohio Publishing. All rights reserved.