MDA to kick off weekly contractor workshops

Beginning Sept. 10, the Mississippi Development Authority will kick off its ‘Model Contractor Development Program’ workshop series at the Roy Anderson Corp. facility in Gulfport. The 10 weekly workshops will be Tuesday evenings through Nov. 12. The series is free and open to small contractors and businesses, but participants must enroll in advance via the www.mscpc.com website to attend. Company representatives must attend eight of the 10 sessions. Source: Jackson, Miss., Clarion Ledger, Aug. 28, 2013.

Op-Ed / Neil Armstrong: “Too honorable”

On the first anniversary (Aug. 25) of the death of the first man to walk on the moon in 1969, Auburn (Ala.) University history professor, and astronaut Neil Armstrong’s 2005 biographer, James Hansen lends his thoughts to Space.Com’s “Op-Ed& Insights” and writes that there was “something too honorable” in the character of one of the largest heroes of the American space program. Source: Space.com, Aug. 25, 2013.

Mississippi joins other Gulf states to be UAV test site

Mississippi has joined two other Gulf Coast states – Alabama and Florida – in bidding to become one of six Federal Aviation Administration sites nationwide to test Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for the Federal Aviation Administration. Mississippi Development Authority officials insist the state’s facilities offer existing assets at little to no cost – including airspace at Camp Shelby, Stennis Space Center and the Gulf of Mexico’s test ranges, controlled by the Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport. Congress directed the FAA to determine and use of test sites for integrating current air traffic with UAVs. Today, drones can only be flown across American air space with permission and for non-commercial purposes. Mississippi has three UAV manufacturers – Stark Aerospace and Aurora Flight Sciences in the Golden Triangle near Columbus and a Northrop Grumman assembly plant at Moss Point - and a flight laboratory at Mississippi State University. Source: Biloxi-Gulfport Sun Herald, Aug. 23, 2013.

AFB pilot walks in father’s steps

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. -- Air Force 2nd Lt. Jon Koritz was among the undergraduate pilots graduating from Class 13-13 on Aug. 16, and walking the stage, at Columbus (Miss.) Air Force Base. But it seemed a bit more special to Koritz. It was the same staging area in which his pilot-physician father Maj. Tom Koritz walked years before. "To walk across this stage … my father walked across, with class 82-01 to receive his wings, is a very special moment for me and my family," Koritz said. His father's was killed when his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down on the second night of combat in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Source: Columbus AFB, Aug. 23, 2013.

MSU’s Green new NSPE prez

Mississippi State University veteran research engineer Robert Green, who is also an undergraduate coordinator for the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, is the new president of the National Society of Professional Engineers. Green, active in NSPE for a quarter century, earned a bachelor’s in chemical engineering and a master’s in mechanical engineering from MSU. The Naval Reserve captain also holds a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College; and is commanding officer of SurgeMain Region Gulf. He is a past president of the Mississippi Engineering Society, and currently serves as a member of the advisory board of the Starkville Chamber of Commerce and is chair of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership Military Affairs Committee. Source: Mississippi Business Journal, Aug. 16, 2013.

Michoud highlights opening of NOLA techfest

New Orleans’ Michoud Assembly Facility will complete construction in 2016 of a 200-foot-tall liquid hydrogen and oxygen tank more than a year ahead of NASA’s scheduled heavy-lift Space Launch System rockets an unmanned test mission into deep space. The new rocket replaces the space shuttle program. Boeing’s production director, speaking on the opening day of the inaugural New Orelanss TechNOLAgy TechFest 2013, also says the Michoud facility will have more than 400 personnel - twice its current size – by 2017. The 3-day science and technology conference is being held at the University of New Orleans and features panels and workshops on alternative energy, aerospace and aviation technology, artificial intelligence and other science specialties. Source: The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, Aug. 22, 2013. (Gulf Coast: After completion, the core stage will be shipped to Stennis (Miss.) Space Center for a test launch. An unmanned test flight into pace will follow in late 2017.)

Aurora delivers space-suit simulator

Aurora Flight Sciences, which has a production plant in Columbus, Miss., has completed delivery of a Space Suit Simulator to NASA following Phase II of a Small Business Innovative Research contract with aeronautic professors at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cincinnati. S3 was developed for NASA space research and training. Aurora developed the lightweight simulator to provide run in conjunction with NASA's Extra-Vehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). S3 is adjustable and is tentatively scheduled to be university field-tested before the end of summer. Source: Aurora Flight Sciences, Aug. 19, 2013.

Tyndall sets up F-22 training over NOLA

With resources for training on the sequestration down-low, but in the face of high demand, combat pilots and maintenance personnel members from Tyndall Air Force Base's 43rd Fighter Squadron and 43rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit in Northwest Florida have formed a real-world training mission at Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base New Orleans through the end of August. Its purpose is to maximize flying and air combat training for six F-22 student-pilots and accomplish 40 syllabus training units over eight days. At the end of the training, the F-22 Raptor pilots will be ahead of their proposed timeline getting orders to operational units, says Lt. Col. Travis Koch, 43rd FS commander. Source: Tyndall AFB, Aug. 16, 2013

MSU engineering R&D in Top 50

Mississippi State University ranks among America's top research universities and Top 50 for engineering research and development, according to data released from the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey for FY-2011. It places MSU 91st overall among all institutions based on its $226.1 million in total R&D expenditures. MSU’s 4,000 research staff numbers account for 60 percent of Mississippi institutions’ total R&D personnel; and nearly 50 percent of the state’s total research expenditures. In addition, MSU was designated one of 108 schools nationwide for its advancement of research-activity teaching by the Carnegie Foundation. The distinction represents the highest level of doctorate-granting universities in the nation; and the only state school with that distinction. Source: WTVA-TV, Tupelo-Columbus, Miss., Aug. 15, 2013.

Eurocopter: Player in China helo biz

When China opens its general aviation airspace in 2020, part of a 5-year plan, the sky will be the limit for commercial aviation; and the Asian nation will become the world's biggest market for helicopters. In the interim, some 250 potential customers will display their products at the China Helicopter Exposition from Sept. 5-8 in Tianjin. EADS’ Eurocopter, the world's largest helicopter manufacturer with manufacturing facilities from Europe to Mississippi, has anticipated the market and established an office in China in 2006. Ninety-eight of China’s 300 general aviation copters were made by Eurocopter – 14 of which are the Eurocopter EC 135 luxury model estimated to cost an average of $4.5 million apiece. Bell Helicopter and Sikorsky also have offices in China. Source: China Daily USA, Aug. 9, 2013. (Waldwick, NJ-based Kallman Worldwide Inc. is organizing its first U.S. international pavilion at the China helicopter expo.)

MSU engineer named NSPE president

Mississippi State University research engineer Robert Green is the newly-elected president of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He is the second MSU engineer to hold that post. Green is also undergraduate coordinator for the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering at the Starkville school. The new NSPE president holds a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College; and is working on his doctoral in public policy at MSU. The other MSU engineer to hold the NSPE presidency was Harry Simrall, the university's dean of engineering, in 1970-71. Source: The Associated Press, Aug. 12, 2013.

Miss: Showing business face in Paris (Clarion-Ledger opinion)

The Mississippi Development Authority laid out nearly $82,000 for its June economic-related business trek to Paris for the International Air Show. There were between 30 and 35 people – including Gov. Phil Bryant – that made the trip. MDA director Brent Christensen claims the state’s traditional appearances at the international air shows in Paris and London have made Mississippi a player in the aerospace business. MDA’s total costs were $131,000 but sponsorships and development partners reimbursed the state $49,367. Mississippi has more than 100 aerospace-related businesses and is a leader in aerospace technology and skilled manufacturing. Source: Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger Opinion Column, Aug. 10, 2013.

MSU’s Barret to join GSDP

Former Mississippi State University coordinator of transfer recruitment, Heath Barret, will be joining the Greater Starkville Development Partnership as director of membership development. Barret will join the partnership Aug. 19; and will assist with new-member recruitment, retention and directed chamber planning. Barret has served within the MSU Department of Admissions and Scholarships since 2006. GSDP’s mission is to enhance quality of life in Starkville and Oktibbeha County through business growth, creation of jobs, education and initiatives. Its membership includes the Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce, Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Starkville Main Street Association. Source: Columbus (Miss.) Dispatch, Aug. 6.

Bagley’s Bowden on WSU short list

The associate dean for academic affairs at Mississippi State’s Bagley College of Engineering is among three finalists for the position of heading Wichita State University’s College of Engineering. The trio will be on Kansas campus for talks with university officials next week, WSU officials said. MSU’s Royce Bowden Jr. will visit the campus from Aug. 14-16. He will take part in an open forum at Wallace Hall on Aug. 15. The other candidates are Atam Dhawan, interim dean at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology; and Arup Maji, senior technical adviser in Civil Engineering at the University of New Mexico. Source: Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, Aug. 6, 2013.

Biesiot takes interim CS&T helm at USM

The University of Southern Mississippi will conduct a national search this fall to select a new dean for its College of Science and Technology. Until then, Dr. Patricia Biesiot, a 23-year educator at the Hattiesburg-based college, will serve as interim dean. Biesiot takes the helm from Dr. Joe B. Whitehead Jr. who left in late July to become Provost at North Carolina A&T State University. Source: The Associated Press, Aug. 5, 2013.

Miss. high court to hear Eaton case

The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear Eaton Corp.’s revived, nearly decade old, trade-secrets lawsuit against Frisby Aerospace on Monday. The suit has spawned tens of millions of dollars in attorneys’ fees and attempted influence pedaling charges. At issue is Frisby’s alleged theft of vital Eaton trade secrets. A lower court ruled that Eaton hired a Mississippi-based lawyer - former judge and famous civil rights attorney Bobby DeLaughter - who tried to influence the judge presiding over the lawsuit. Eaton’s claims the value of its claim is more than $200 million. Source: Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, Aug. 3, 2013. (Central Mississippi and Golden Triangle: Eaton Aerospace Group has a Fuel & Motion Control Systems Division located in Jackson, Miss.)