Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University: Difference between revisions
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This 178 acre (720,000 m²) campus is centered around the John Paul Riddle Student Center. To facilitate the flight program, the campus is connected to the [[Daytona Beach International Airport]] (ICAO Code: KDAB). Due to Daytona International's daily operations there is a constant background of aircraft noise. Engineering classes and facilities (such as the Thermojet solid model printer, [[Computational Fluid Dynamics]], 128-node [[Beowulf cluster]] and [[wind tunnel]]s) are concentrated in the Lehman Engineering and Technology Center, built in 1990 to facilitate hands-on training in various engineering practices. There are well over 180 software titles available to faculty and students including [[CATIA]], [[Nastran]], [[Pro/ENGINEER]], and [[Matlab]]. |
This 178 acre (720,000 m²) campus is centered around the John Paul Riddle Student Center. To facilitate the flight program, the campus is connected to the [[Daytona Beach International Airport]] (ICAO Code: KDAB). Due to Daytona International's daily operations there is a constant background of aircraft noise. Engineering classes and facilities (such as the Thermojet solid model printer, [[Computational Fluid Dynamics]], 128-node [[Beowulf cluster]] and [[wind tunnel]]s) are concentrated in the Lehman Engineering and Technology Center, built in 1990 to facilitate hands-on training in various engineering practices. There are well over 180 software titles available to faculty and students including [[CATIA]], [[Nastran]], [[Pro/ENGINEER]], and [[Matlab]]. |
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The College of Aviation (COA) building |
The College of Aviation (COA) building provides a conducive learning environment for those in the aeronautical sciences as well as the air traffic, meteorology, safety, and dispatch programs. The COA building houses FAA testing facilities, a flight tutoring lab, Weather labs [http://wx.erau.edu], [[Spatial Disorientation]] simulator, [[Air Safety]] lab, [[TRACON]] simulators, as well as the prominent [[control tower]] simulator. |
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Most degree-independent courses are held in the [[Lindbergh]] Center, a group of small hexagonal buildings with the designations A, B, C, E and W (for this reason it they are more commonly referred to as the "alphabet soup" by faculty and students). The [[Jack R. Hunt]] Memorial Library (JRHML) is the on campus library, notable for having the world's largest collection of [[NASA]] and [[National_Advisory_Committee_for_Aeronautics|NACA]] documents as well as a very extensive aviation media collection. NASA personnel have frequently consulted the JRHML for its highly comprehensive collection of NASA documents, most importantly, during the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster]] investigation. |
Most degree-independent courses are held in the [[Lindbergh]] Center, a group of small hexagonal buildings with the designations A, B, C, E and W (for this reason it they are more commonly referred to as the "alphabet soup" by faculty and students). The [[Jack R. Hunt]] Memorial Library (JRHML) is the on campus library, notable for having the world's largest collection of [[NASA]] and [[National_Advisory_Committee_for_Aeronautics|NACA]] documents as well as a very extensive aviation media collection. NASA personnel have frequently consulted the JRHML for its highly comprehensive collection of NASA documents, most importantly, during the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster]] investigation. |
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Revision as of 12:54, 15 January 2006
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is an independent, non-sectarian, non-profit, coeducational university with a history dating back to the early days of aviation. The university serves culturally diverse students primarily motivated toward careers in aviation and aerospace. Residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida and Prescott, Arizona, provide education in a traditional setting, while an extended campus with over 130 centers throughout the United States and abroad serves civilian and military working adults.
History
Embry-Riddle, founded 22 years after the flight of the Wright Brothers, was at first purely a flight school tasked with flight training and nothing more. Embry-Riddle gained university status in 1970, following a steady expansion of its flying programs.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks investigators thought that the school may have trained at least one of the aircraft hijackers. However, after a short investigation, ERAU was fully exonerated from any involvement in the flight training of the terrorists. Although a former student shared the same name as one of the hijackers, that former student was still alive and had no connections to Al-Qaeda.
Campuses
Daytona Beach, Florida
This 178 acre (720,000 m²) campus is centered around the John Paul Riddle Student Center. To facilitate the flight program, the campus is connected to the Daytona Beach International Airport (ICAO Code: KDAB). Due to Daytona International's daily operations there is a constant background of aircraft noise. Engineering classes and facilities (such as the Thermojet solid model printer, Computational Fluid Dynamics, 128-node Beowulf cluster and wind tunnels) are concentrated in the Lehman Engineering and Technology Center, built in 1990 to facilitate hands-on training in various engineering practices. There are well over 180 software titles available to faculty and students including CATIA, Nastran, Pro/ENGINEER, and Matlab.
The College of Aviation (COA) building provides a conducive learning environment for those in the aeronautical sciences as well as the air traffic, meteorology, safety, and dispatch programs. The COA building houses FAA testing facilities, a flight tutoring lab, Weather labs [1], Spatial Disorientation simulator, Air Safety lab, TRACON simulators, as well as the prominent control tower simulator.
Most degree-independent courses are held in the Lindbergh Center, a group of small hexagonal buildings with the designations A, B, C, E and W (for this reason it they are more commonly referred to as the "alphabet soup" by faculty and students). The Jack R. Hunt Memorial Library (JRHML) is the on campus library, notable for having the world's largest collection of NASA and NACA documents as well as a very extensive aviation media collection. NASA personnel have frequently consulted the JRHML for its highly comprehensive collection of NASA documents, most importantly, during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster investigation.
Food on Daytona Beach Campus
Students may use a variety of ways to pay for food on campus. These include: Eagle Dollars, Riddle Bucks, Meal Plans, and Cash.
Campus eating facilities include: The Student Center Cafeteria, The Landing Strip, The Student Village "Ultimate Dining", Einstein Brother's Bagels, and Propellers.
The Student Center Cafeteria is located in the center of campus and serves an assortment of meals, as well as sandwiches and breakfast foods. This cafeteria holds the largest number of students of all the eating facilities, and often doubles as a theater for campus movies, or a stage for campus events.
The Landing Strip serves subs, chicken wings, and certain varieties of oriental food. While it is co-located with the Student Center Cafeteria, the Landing Strip's hours of operation are longer.
The Student Village Cafeteria serves an array of buffet-style meals, sandwiches, and breakfast foods. It is located on the ground level in the Student Village.
Propellers is generally regarded as the most remote eatery on campus. Nevertheless, the exceptional quality of burgers, wraps, and Caesar salads offered here attracts many students everyday.
Residence on Daytona Beach Campus
Over 1,000 students take up residence on-campus in the $29 million Student Village residence complex on the north edge of campus. Four dormitory halls as well as extensive food services are contained within this building. The Residential Network (ResNet[2]) technical support lab for student-owned computers is also located there.
Doolittle Hall, a concrete and cinder block building in the shape a "T", houses freshmen. Due to its small windows and thick construction, Doolittle is also classified as a Category 4 hurricane shelter. There is a volleyball court on the northeast side.
McKay Hall houses all student levels. Three freshmen or two upperclassmen students are assigned to each room, due to the low population of women students they are often housed two per a room in McKay, with each suite composed of two rooms joined in a "common area." At one time McKay Hall resembled an old roadside hotel, and while having undergone a recent facelift, is often the butte of jokes among the students that live there.
Prescott, Arizona
Embry-Riddle's second residential campus is in Prescott, Arizona. The campus is located approximately 3 miles from Love Field, which also serves as Prescott's airport. In the beginning of the 2005 spring semester, the new Academic Complex opened. This new facility houses offices for most of the faculty. On the ground floor it contains three computer labs with state of the art equipment. There are also two classrooms that can hold approximately 60 people each. Other notable buildings include the King Engineering Center, where most of the electrical engineering classes occur. There is also a wind tunnel laboratory that is currently being expanded. For the fall 2006 semester, the new high bay laboratory will open for student use. The Harlem Globetrotters spend two weeks at the school each year as part of their training program.
Food on PR campus
There are three options for paying for food in Prescott: a meal plan, flexi-dollars, and cash.
The student cafeteria is commonly called Chartwells. Chartwells is ultimately run by Compass Group. Students are allowed as many servings as they can eat here. Meals can be paid for using cash, flexi-dollars, or a meal plan. Students can also get food from the Hangar Cafe. Only cash and flexi-dollars are allowed here. A Fry's grocery store is located half a mile down Willow Creek Road from the campus.
Residence on PR campus
There are three student residence areas. The Thumb Butte Complex features 4 halls and is for freshmen only. The Mingus Mountain Complex features five halls arranged in 3 room suite configurations. Finally, the Village Complex features five halls and is for upperclassmen only. The apartments are designed for 4 people each and feature a cook top and a full sized refrigerator. There is a communal oven as well.
Student body
ERAU's undergraduate enrollment is about 4,500, about 18% of which is female, resulting in a roughly 4.56:1 ratio of males to females. Aviation interests characterize most of the student body, though particularly among the aerospace engineering and aeronautical science majors, the latter of which are in the flying (pilots) program. Many come from military families interested in military (usually Air Force) careers.
Distinguished programs
ERAU academics focus on aviation, with its aerospace engineering program being ranked number one in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings of aerospace engineering degree schools without aerospace engineering Ph.D. programs. Pilot training, aerospace engineering (enhanced by a close relationship with nearby NASA facilities), and more recently software engineering are among its strongest programs. The United States Air Force currently contracts flight training by ERAU faculty. The school also has the second most extensive ROTC programs in the nation, following Texas A&M. The ROTC program frequently wins national competitions. A newer engineering physics program exists at ERAU, and is generally regarded as the most rigorous major by fellow students.
Classes are typically small, with even the lowest level freshman courses having 20 to 30 students at most.
Athletics
Sports play a relatively small role on the ERAU campus. While notable baseball and soccer teams do exist, other sports are not as seriously regarded. Currently there is no ERAU football team, though there is a basketball team, a new track team and a self-financed ice hockey team. The school mascot is the eagle (most closely resembling the Bald Eagle).
Both campuses also feature National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) competitive flight teams. Prescott's Golden Eagles Flight Team won the national championship in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2005.