East Hartford’s aerospace manufacturing giant Pratt & Whitney, an RTX company, recently celebrated its 100th year anniversary, commemorating a century of innovation and excellence in aerospace engineering and manufacturing for the state of Connecticut and the world.
More than 11,000 employees serve Pratt’s East Hartford headquarters and manufacturing facilities, many of whom are UConn graduates. The UConn College of Engineering and Pratt & Whitney are together bridging the gap between theory and practice, and creating innovations and technologies to advance the future of air travel and air defense.
“UConn Engineering’s partnership with Pratt & Whitney has never been stronger,” says dean JC Zhao. “We are grateful for the support of Pratt & Whitney to UConn Engineering over the decades.”
Powering America’s Aviation
Pratt & Whitney has deep connections to the state of Connecticut. The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company was first founded in 1925 in Hartford on Capitol Avenue by Frederick Brant Rentschler and George Mead.
Pratt’s first engine, completed in late 1925, was named the R-1340 Wasp. The U.S. Navy ordered 200 of the 425-horsepower Wasp after it passed its official qualification test. American aviation was revolutionized by the Wasp’s speed, climb performance, and reliability.
Rentschler remained president of Pratt’s parent company United Aircraft Corporation (which became United Technologies in 1975) until his passing in 1956.
Pratt’s former company airfield, located in East Hartford, was named Rentschler Field in Rentschler’s honor and was donated to the state of Connecticut. The Rentschler Field stadium opened in 2003 as the home field for the UConn football team.
In April 2020, United Technologies merged with Raytheon Company, and together became the RTX Corporation. RTX consists of Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, and Raytheon. Today, Pratt has 90,000 engines in service on 500 unique aircraft types. Every couple of seconds, a flight powered by Pratt engines takes off around the world.
Growing Together in Connecticut
The Pratt & Whitney and UConn Engineering partnership started early. At UConn, the first engineering students graduated in 1920, the same year the Division of Mechanical Engineering moved into its own building on the Storrs campus. United Technologies invested in UConn Engineering in 1986, leading to the opening and naming of the original United Technologies Engineering Building on the Storrs campus that same year. Since then, UConn’s mechanical engineering division has seen record growth, expanding into the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering in 2023. The United Technologies Engineering Building was renamed in 2024 to the Pratt & Whitney Engineering Building.
In addition to providing scholarships and professorships as well as supporting senior design projects, Pratt & Whitney accepts 20 to 30 UConn Engineering interns annually. After commencement, most of them are hired by Pratt and able to apply their newfound knowledge and theory in practice. Over 2,200 UConn alums work for Pratt, and about 21% of all Pratt & Whitney engineers in the United States are UConn alums, more than any other university across the country.
“As a proud UConn graduate myself, I see firsthand the immediate impact Huskies make when they join our teams,” says Pratt vice president of engineering Matthew Teicholz ’06 (ENG) ’07 MS. “Their preparation is exceptional, and their ability to translate theory into practice strengthens our engineering workforce year after year. The UConn to Pratt pipeline isn’t just strong, it’s personal for many of us who called Storrs their home for four years, and are now shaping the future of aviation together.”
In addition to engineers, many corporate leaders at RTX and Pratt are UConn alums, including RTX Chairman and CEO Christopher Calio ’00 JD ’00 MBA and Pratt & Whitney President for Commercial Engines Rick Deurloo ’98 MBA.
The crucial partnership between Pratt & Whitney and UConn remains an essential force for the success of UConn Engineering. RTX and Pratt & Whitney have made significant investment in the College of Engineering over the years. These funds have powered the Pratt & Whitney Center of Excellence (combustion-focused), the Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Processing Center (materials processing-focused), and the Pratt & Whitney Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering (systems-focused). The Collins Aerospace Center for Advanced Materials also sees strong RTX Corporation support.
Celebrating the Occasion
UConn leaders attended Pratt’s 100th anniversary celebration in East Hartford at the Pratt & Whitney Hangar Museum on Oct. 7.
“Pratt & Whitney’s century of innovation represents what is possible when bold ideas, deep expertise, and an unwavering commitment to excellence come together. For generations, they have advanced aviation while strengthening Connecticut’s economy and communities,” said UConn President Radenka Maric regarding the anniversary. “UConn is honored to celebrate this milestone with them and proud of the many ways our partnership continues to support Pratt’s mission.”
The event brought local and state public and private partners together to recognize Pratt’s impact on the Connecticut economy and aviation worldwide.
“Connecticut was our home for a century, and it will be our home for the future,” said Pratt & Whitney president Shane Eddy at the event.
“Pratt brings about $2 billion a year into our economy,” said Governor Ned Lamont during Pratt’s festivities. “Not to mention the supply chain. There’s over 100 small companies, and not so small companies, working with Pratt to make this possible.”
Ascending Into the Future Together
According to Pratt, their centennial anniversary is more than a milestone, it’s a launchpad for bold innovation and growth. Building upon their philosophy that the best airplanes can only be designed around the best engines, Pratt continues to set the sky as the limit.
The geared turbofan (GTF) engines of Pratt & Whitney have led to much enhanced efficiency and reduced noise; and have positioned Pratt for substantial growth as evidenced by the 12,000+ GTF engine orders and commitments from more than 90 customers worldwide.
UConn Engineering is here to help train the workforce for Pratt’s growth.
Zhao also has a bold vision for UConn Engineering, particularly around aerospace engineering. With 12 years of industrial experience centered on jet engine and gas turbine technologies, Zhao joined UConn as the engineering dean with a drive to expand UConn’s aerospace engineering minor into a full-fledged undergraduate major.
The dean noted that no public universities in New England have an accredited aerospace engineering undergraduate major – only private universities offer it. His vision to establish an aerospace engineering major at UConn is not only to provide affordable yet high-quality education to aspiring aerospace engineers across New England, but also to provide the much-needed workforce for Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and the state of Connecticut.
In addition to workforce development, UConn Engineering is leveraging its research excellence to develop technologies to enhance the durability and “time-on-wing” of jet engines.
“We look forward to another century of partnership with Pratt & Whitney,” says Zhao. “We are here to support the aerospace and aviation industry in Connecticut with our talent pool and technological innovations.”
