Jordan Cook Among Senior Design Students Who Present Projects During Lockheed Martin Visit

Just before finals, Senior Design students in Baylor University’s School of Engineering & Computer Science (ECS) were able to present their semester-long projects at the Lockheed Martin headquarters in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. These student projects are part of collaborative efforts between Baylor ECS and partners such as Lockheed Martin to efficiently and effectively create solutions to real-world issues.

The projects are focused on designing systems and components to extending capabilities of drones developed by Lockheed Martin for performing inspections of the exterior surfaces of aircraft, said.

“Baylor University Senior Design is a cost and quality competitive program that has a history of delivering talent and solutions,” said Chris Colaw, Fellow, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “Hardworking, eager, and humble students are paired with customer-focused engineering faculty and deliver results including conceptual design, prototype fabrication, along with verification and validation of their design.”

Baylor’s single-semester format is different from most other universities that complete their projects over two semesters, which is valuable for industry collaboration, Colaw noted.

“For Lockheed Martin, this means Baylor engineering projects are delivered faster, and with greater attention and priority than from others who operate at a slower pace,” Colaw explained. “Another distinguishing hallmark is the Baylor faculty’s weekly engagement and attention to the success and customer perception of the students’ work. Because of great student talent and attentive professors, the Baylor Senior Design program sets a high bar for Lockheed Martin’s university partnerships.”

The Baylor teams were the first design project teams from any university to visit Lockheed Martin since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Yesterday’s visit was a spectacular way to wrap up this semester’s work,” said Joe Donndelinger, clinical associate professor of professional practice at Baylor ECS. “We especially want to thank Lockheed Martin’s Chris Colaw, Charles Crawford, and Ethan Rohrer for volunteering generous time to support the plant tour and student presentations. We’re looking forward to resuming work on these projects in the spring.”

Since 2017, Lockheed Martin has sponsored a total of 12 Baylor Engineering Capstone Design teams, engaging a total of 83 students. Baylor ECS professors Joseph Donndelinger and Adam Weaver, clinical assistant professor of professional practice, provide their students with guidance on these projects and others in EGR 3380 Engineering Design I and EGR 4390 Engineering Design I courses.