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The UConn School of Engineering, in partnership with United Technologies Corporation (UTC), today launched the UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering at UConn, thanks to $10 million in planned investments from UTC. The initial $7.5 million contribution is one of the largest corporate gifts in UConn’s history and represents a significant investment in educating the next generation of engineering leaders.
Today’s aircraft, buildings and other highly engineered solutions include numerous intelligent components and sub-systems. Systems engineering focuses on understanding and optimizing the interactions between these systems and components to make products more efficient and reliable, with greater capabilities, at a lower cost. As we look to the future, this expertise will be crucial for engineers who want to design and create the most advanced products and solutions.
“We are excited to work with UConn to develop the next generation of engineers who understand how to approach complex systems,” said Dr. J. Michael McQuade, UTC Senior Vice President, Science and Technology. “The Institute will train the innovators and engineers of today and tomorrow, ensuring that we have the people and skills necessary to keep UTC at the forefront of technology.”
“The UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering will provide our students exciting opportunities for research and training in one of the fastest growing fields in engineering today,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “This investment demonstrates UConn’s highly ambitious commitment to promoting education and research in critical disciplines across the board that will benefit our students and our state.”
In support of the Institute’s launch, UTC will contribute $7.5 million over five years to the University of Connecticut as a cash gift, with a goal for an additional $2.5 million to fund sponsored research services related to advanced systems engineering projects for UTC. Aligned with the goals of Next Generation Connecticut, the plan to expand educational opportunities, research, and innovation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) over the next decade, and the UConn Tech Park, the investment will be used to recruit and support distinguished faculty and outstanding students. The Institute will establish capability and experience in advanced systems engineering, strengthening UConn’s reputation and impact in science and engineering.
“The need to produce high-quality products in a globally competitive economy is dramatically changing the way systems are designed, operationalized, and maintained,” said Krishna Pattipati, UConn’s UTC Professor of Systems Engineering and the Institute’s interim director. “A workforce highly trained in systems engineering can help reduce the cost of product development, speed delivery time and ensure high reliability of complex systems.”
UTC and UConn have an 85-year history of working together. Over that time, UTC has hired thousands of UConn engineering graduates, and contributed millions of dollars to develop and support engineering programs at the University, including Pratt & Whitney’s additive manufacturing innovation center, which opened earlier this year. UTC has also enabled more than 700 employees to earn degrees from UConn by fully funding continued education through its Employee Scholar Program.
As Connecticut’s flagship public university, UConn is a leader in Connecticut workforce development, preparing its students with the latest knowledge, skills, technologies and industry standards to allow them to succeed in today’s highly competitive global marketplace.
United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides a broad range of high-technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industries. For more information, visit www.utc.com or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.
