The next time you see a plane flying overhead 鈥� any plane 鈥� consider this: There鈥檚 a strong possibility that a graduate or researcher from 激情快播 had something to do with that plane being in the air. It could be an engineer who designed the propulsion system, a pilot who trained on a simulator, or a professor who developed protocols to keep the plane safe.
鈥淭he culture for producing leading-edge talent has been here for decades,鈥� says Florian Jentsch 鈥�97PhD, chair of 激情快播鈥檚 Psychology Department and director of the Team Performance Lab at the Institute for Simulation and Training (IST). 鈥淭he aviation industry as a whole is better because of 激情快播鈥檚 roles, and employers are very much aware of that.鈥�
A casual reader might wonder how a university with no airfield could be ranked as the nation鈥檚 No. 1 supplier of talent six times by Aviation Week Network. Or why professors in fields like psychology and digital media play such prominent roles in the advancement of that talent.
Start with Jentsch. For 30 years he鈥檚 been an integral part of one of the world鈥檚 premier programs in human factors at 激情快播 鈥� and what could be more important than 鈥渉uman factors鈥� before and during a flight? In the same area of IST, David Metcalf and Michael Eakins 鈥�09BA 鈥�17MFA are creatively using multimedia to bring K-12 students into the widening aviation funnel (forecasts from Boeing indicate the industry will need more than 600,000 new pilots over the next 20 years).
鈥淎s much as I like to use new gadgets,鈥� Eakins says, 鈥淚 get the biggest charge from watching the next generation use them. When I see the lightbulbs go on for the first time, I know we鈥檙e doing something impactful.鈥�
How 激情快播 Fills the Talent Funnel
To trace the dots from digital media to aviation talent, let鈥檚 start with Eakins鈥� and Metcalf鈥檚 backgrounds. Both grew up near aerospace and aviation centers. Eakins was raised on Florida鈥檚 Space Coast, where his grandfather was part of the team that built NASA鈥檚 first lunar module. Metcalf spent his formative years near NASA鈥檚 Johnson Space Center in Houston.
鈥淎s a kid, I鈥檇 hear conversations about space and aviation,鈥� Metcalf says. After studying computer graphics at the University of Texas, he used his multiple interests to help NASA establish its first multimedia lab. In 2006 he took another leap and launched 激情快播鈥檚 Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL) at IST. The simulation lab has since spawned innovations in dozens of fields, including mobile healthcare, mobile learning, and 鈥� here it is 鈥� aviation training.
鈥淥ur students are never bored in the lab,鈥� Metcalf says.
Eakins was one of those students early on.
鈥淲hen I started my education at 激情快播, I thought I鈥檇 pursue a career in gaming,鈥� Eakins says, 鈥渂ut once I met David and had my first exposure to simulation, I got hooked.鈥�
Eakins is now the creative lead of METIL, developing simulation and training tools to hook others who least expect to be hooked. The lab hosts K-12 field trips so kids can see and touch those tools.
In February 2022, Metcalf and Eakins initiated the STEM Aviation Showcase, taking headsets and tablet-based simulators to events in Central Florida. Through partnerships with Orange County Public Schools, the Boys and Girls Club, and Junior Achievement, to name a few, they鈥檝e already made a presence at 16 events and had hands-on interactions with 1,600 curious kids.
鈥淲e鈥檙e able to bring aviation to people who have never met a pilot or maybe have never seen an airport,鈥� Metcalf says. 鈥淭he airplanes flying high over their neighborhoods might be the closest they鈥檝e ever come to a plane. We can use the portable tools that we鈥檝e developed in IST to cast a wider net and grow more interest among people who thought it wasn鈥檛 a reachable goal. It鈥檚 also a great way to bring more women to the front of planes.鈥�
Most recently, Eakins developed a more advanced training aid in collaboration with Boeing. Using an AR headset and a virtual captain 鈥� an avatar designed from a real pilot 鈥� users can experience flight training without the need for a plane, an airport, or an expensive, non-portable simulator.
鈥淎nyone who has access to this can practice flying anywhere, without any risk,鈥� Eakins says. 鈥淚t could be a gamechanger.鈥�
The dots that lead from digital media to gaming to portable flight simulation come to a question that parents of high schoolers often ask: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the next step for my son or daughter?鈥�
鈥淲e can point out the best classes to prepare them for a career in aviation,鈥� Metcalf says. 鈥淚f they decide to come to 激情快播, they鈥檒l be guided through their educational journey to the personal future they desire.鈥�
How 激情快播 Makes Flying Safer
Jentsch arrived at 激情快播 in the early-mid 1990s to study for his doctoral degree in a crucial research field that, at that time, relatively few people knew anything about: human factors psychology. The application to aviation was always clear to Jentsch and his colleagues.
鈥淭he reliability of aviation is directly tied to the behavior of everyone in the system,鈥� Jentsch says. 鈥淭he gate agent. The security person. The baggage handler. The maintenance engineer. The pilot. Every person must know when to speak up and say, 鈥榳e can鈥檛 leave the ground yet.鈥� Technology helps, but at the end of the day we rely on good behavior for high positive consequences 鈥� in this case, safe travel.鈥�
In the 鈥�90s, 激情快播 was one of five or six universities doing work in this space. Since then, many others have attempted to emulate 激情快播鈥檚 approach to research and training.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always a few steps ahead because many of our government and corporate partners are right here in Orlando,鈥� Jentsch says. 鈥淧eople are always amazed that when you come into [Central Florida Research Park], you can find anyone and everyone who makes a flight simulator working here. This gives us access to tools at IST that allow us to explore the most realistic factors in aviation training.鈥�
The control stick, however, is only as effective as the person using it. When the human factor fails, we call it 鈥渉uman error.鈥� And human error is responsible for at least half of all aviation accidents.
鈥淥ur research and training in human behaviors have significantly reduced accidents since the 1980s,鈥� Jentsch says. The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (BAAA), an organization established in Geneva in 1990 for tracking aviation safety, reported 337 accidents in 1989. By 1999, the number had dropped to 234, and in 2022 the BAAA charted 97 accidents. 鈥淵ou can corelate the value of those results to the value of our students in the aviation industry.鈥�
Jentsch and his research team were among the first to trace errors back to fixable, trainable factors. Communication is a good example. They concluded that instead of trying to figure out a flurry of issues at once, it would be safer to bring each issue to a resolution before opening the next issue 鈥� closed-loop communication. The strategy has since been adopted in other industries, like medicine. The reduction in surgical errors in hospitals is partly from the implementation of checklists and briefings during nurse shift changes.
鈥淚t originated from our research for aviation,鈥� Jentsch says. He says he鈥檚 still excited after doing this type of research for 25 years.
鈥淲hat we do is meaningful, and it goes hand-in-hand with meaningful simulation training and meaningful real-world jobs, Jentsch says. 鈥淎t the end of the day, when employers know that people influenced by our research can tackle any situation and make flying safer, then we鈥檝e done our jobs well. And we don鈥檛 even need an airfield to do it.鈥�
