Industry Partners

UNC Charlotte’s Aviation and Innovation Research Institute and Charlotte Douglas International Airport have launched a joint research program — the only one of its kind in the nation — embedding high-sensitivity sensors directly into the concrete of a runway as it’s being poured. Led by Tara Cavalline, director of the Charlotte AIR Institute and professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering, the groundbreaking collaboration will capture real-time data on how pavement responds to weather, temperature shifts, and the constant impact of aircraft landings and takeoffs.

In September, 20 UNC Charlotte students shook hands and began relationships with professionals from Bobcat Company, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction compact equipment. Each Niner received a $3,000 scholarship, becoming the first students to benefit from a new partnership between UNC Charlotte and Bobcat. 

This academic year, one of the world’s leaders in metal additive manufacturing, Oerlikon AM donated an industry-grade metal additive manufacturing machine to William States Lee College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, demonstrating its continued commitment to research and discovery. 

UNC Charlotte’s engineering college to use the same technology in its classrooms that companies worldwide depend on to embrace digital transformation