Quality Engineering Career News by UQSI

Defense Supporters Say 100,000 Jobs Are in Jeopardy

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Some of the nation’s largest defense contractors, labor unions and trade groups are banding together to argue that the Obama administration is putting 100,000 or more jobs at risk by proposing deep cuts in weapons programs.

The defense industry and its supporters argue that the proposals by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will increase unemployment during a historic economic crisis. Why, they ask, would President Obama push hundreds of billions in stimulus spending to create jobs only to propose weapons cuts that would eliminate tens of thousands of them?

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Changes in economy, military spending force Arizona firms to get creative to survive downturn

by Andrew Johnson – Apr. 24, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Potential cuts to U.S. defense programs, a slowdown in aviation spending and the general economic malaise are forcing small machine shops across the Valley to sharpen their pencils to stay competitive.

These small Arizona companies depend on the business of large manufacturers such as Honeywell International Inc. and Boeing Co. But as the economy slows and the federal government prepares to cut or shift federal defense spending, Arizona’s large manufacturers have responded by tightening their belts.

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As more baby boomers reach retirement, demand for qualified graduates is on the rise

By Thomas K. Grose
Posted April 22, 2009

Hypersonic aircraft—including space vehicles re-entering the atmosphere—routinely rocket along at thrilling but dangerous velocities, well beyond the speed of sound. Back on Earth, working to keep them safe, is an aerospace engineering Ph.D. student named Tom Juliano.
Tom Juliano, an aerospace engineering student working on his Ph.D., installs a Hyper-2000 model onto the sting of the Mach 6 wind tunnel operated by Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.
Tom Juliano, an aerospace engineering student working on his Ph.D., installs a Hyper-2000 model onto the sting of the Mach 6 wind tunnel operated by Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.

At a Mach 6 wind tunnel operated by Purdue University, Juliano studies airflows nearest the aircraft surface. Some are laminar, or calm; others, turbulent—and they’re the ones that intensify the heat the vehicle is subjected to. Juliano’s experiments show when airflows change from laminar to turbulent. If his predictions are too high, the aircraft will be overclad with heavy thermal protection layers, impeding its performance. If they’re too low, it will burn up. “This is not trivial,” Juliano says of his research.

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Miss. defense, aerospace expanding
The Clarion-Ledger • April 16, 2009

The Mississippi Economic Council’s 60th annual meeting kicked off Thursday morning with talk of some of the state’s most vital — but sometimes overlooked — economic cogs: defense and aerospace.

Officials with Rolls-Royce North America’s naval marine program and the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link spoke of past accomplishments and future plans for facilities in Pascagoula and the Golden Triangle region, respectively.

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Hooray for our aerospace industry!!!  Finally a sector that wants government spending in the right direction. Research and Discovery aid. Imagine that, a government helping an industry the old fashioned way, by not bailing out, but helping out. By spending more in military, aerospace projects, and space research aid, it be the best bailout for main street and unemployed. Lets give that a shot Washington, create real jobs in a sector that is not asking for a handout.

Published: Tuesday, April 14, 2009

But the aerospace giant says the legislation fails to address more pressing issues.

By Jerry Cornfield
Herald Writer

OLYMPIA — A high-level advisory panel to ensure the state remains a competitive force in the aerospace industry sailed through a House committee Monday.

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Welcome to our new blog dedicated to Quality Engineering.  I will have new content soon, and discussions about the effect of Quality Engineering in Energy and Aerospace/Defense initiatives.