“The biggest benefit of Apollo was the inspiration it gave to a growing generation to get into science and aerospace,” said Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut, former American Astronaut and Engineer.
“The North Carolina Science Festival is the first statewide science festival in the United States. The festival promotes science awareness for all North Carolinians ... The concept is the cultural, educational, and economic development of the sciences within North Carolina,” according to the North Carolina Science Festival (Wikipedia).
“The NC Science Festival started in 2010 out of Morehead Planetarium and has developed to cover events across the state during the month of April. Fayetteville State is proud to participate in this program for our second year. State on Innovation is the theme for 2024. This theme inspired the kickoff for our new degree program, Material Science and Advanced Manufacturing,” states Joseph Kabbes, Astronomy instructor and planetarium manager, Fayetteville State University.
Innovation and Aerospace Manufacturing will be presented at Fayetteville State Planetarium, Fayetteville State University on April 13 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This free event will have presentations about Earth Science, Physics, Engineering, and Technology. Activities include launching rockets, coding robots, learning 3-D printing techniques, thrust testing rocket engines including the Bronco Nitro, experimentation with heat shield designs, designing personalized badges with the assistance of robots, driving robots on simulated lunar surfaces, flying small drones, exploration of thruster design and a full movie experience of the Fayetteville Planetarium.
“Innovation, to me, is the process of seeing what is and imagining the development of what may be. It takes the form of invention or could be the combination of existing ideas or products in unique and novel ways or for different purposes,” states Kabbes.
Fayetteville State University is offering a new degree program called Material Science and Advanced Manufacturing degree during Fall 2024.
“The new Material Science and Advanced Manufacturing Degree is an outgrowth of the existing Material Science minor in the Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Material Science at Fayetteville State. This extends the current work in material science at the microscopic scale to the macroscopic scale for manufacturing. This is to address a critical national priority to reestablish onshore manufacturing to address economic and strategic needs.
"The program excites me, as it is the first step towards engineering at Fayetteville State University, in addition to meeting a strong demand for material scientists,” Kabbes said. “We see the economic impact of material science every day, from new materials in cars and airplanes to 3-D printed parts and even houses. NASA and other organizations have a high need for material scientists and advanced manufacturing to help with the growing space economy. It is an exciting time for our students. In addition to training students for these new industries, one dream is to establish Fayetteville State University as the regional hub for new businesses related to Advanced Manufacturing.”
The degree program is available for Fall 2024. For more information contact Fayetteville State University, at https://www.uncfsu.edu.
“The mission of the Fayetteville State University Planetarium is to engage students in Cumberland County and the surrounding region. We hope to inspire and inform students of the opportunities in Science and Engineering, In Civil Engineering, for example, there is a shortfall of tens of thousands of engineers today. Engineers are responsible for public infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, and water supplies, but also design infrastructure as we move to build bases on the Moon and beyond. We want younger students to see some of the opportunities and say, ‘I could do that,’” said Kabbes.
Inspire and inform students from pre-kindergarten to college level to attend the Innovation in Aerospace and Manufacturing, at the Fayetteville State University Planetarium on April 13. The event is free., and will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.