A group of BARC students visited Boeing factories and had the opportunity to showcase their research projects to Boeing Executives and senior technical engineering experts (called Technical Fellows) at the Boeing Airplane Integration Center in Everett, Washington on October 3, 2023. The students presented their innovative solutions to various engineering challenges and discussed how their work could benefit Boeing. The event also allowed the students to interact with Boeing engineers and learn from their expertise and feedback. The event was attended by around 50 UW students and faculty, and many Boeing employees.
The event started with opening remarks by Steve Chisholm, the VP for Functional Chief Engineer for Mechanical and Structural at Boeing, who welcomed the students and shared with them the history of BARC. Michelle Caray, Boeing Executive Site Director at UW, and Tia Benson-Tolle, Director of Materials and Fabrication at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Production, also gave welcoming remarks and expressed their support for the collaboration between UW and Boeing. Seventeen student teams then took turns to present their research projects, covering topics such as safety, inspection, automation, materials, structures, simulation, and data analytics. The presentations were followed by Q&As where the students answered questions from Boeing engineers and executives and received constructive feedback and suggestions. The event concluded networking discussions where the students and Boeing employees exchanged contacts and discussed potential opportunities for future cooperation.
