The National Space Council is a great example of policy intersecting with aerospace engineering. While this specific council is just getting started, it could change the way we treat space and, in turn, change the direction of engineering entirely. Understanding how these networks interact is not easy and requires political scientists, business professionals, as well as engineers who can understand the underlying technology and what is possible. This is the goal of the Battelle Center, in the John Glenn College, which has brought together students from many disciplines to look at how problems can best be solved through interdisciplinary collaboration.
Dr. Elizabeth Newton, The Battelle Center Director, has been extremely helpful to the BSLI and its members who chose to do work there. It is an amazing opportunity for students to work together and learn the inner-workings of the world and how they affect engineers and the projects they work on.
– Nic Flesher