TRANSCRIPT:

Mack Burke: I'm Mack Burke, host of We Are Land Grant, and I'm joined today by Dr. Jamey Jacob, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education, also known as OAIRE Dr. Jacob, welcome.

Dr. Jamey Jacob: Thanks for having me, Mack.

Mack Burke: First, can you tell us a little bit about what OAIRE is and its mission?

Dr. Jamey Jacob: So, OAIRE was created in 2021 with the aim of bringing the state's aerospace innovation economy together under one umbrella, really with a purpose being to support aerospace industry growth in Oklahoma and beyond.

So, examples of this include the Counter US Center of Excellence, where we work with both the Department of Defense and Department of Homeless Security to help bolster national security and defense against drones. We've also celebrated the creation of the Launchpad Center for Advanced Air Mobility with $20 million in funding for the EDA, and that's gonna help play a crucial role in advancing safety measures to allow for the expansion of drones and urban air taxis and urban environments.

Kind of think, you know, Fifth Element with Bruce Willis, but now testing these systems to be able to transport people from one side of the city to another.

Mack Burke: So what are some practical ways that OAIRE research is making an impact?

Dr. Jamey Jacob: Well, you know, when you're a land grant university, it's not about doing stuff in the laboratory.

We have to get systems out in the hands of end users. And as part of that, all of our researchers that we have undergraduates, graduate students. Even high school students are really focused on developing these groundbreaking technologies and testing them out in the field, whether it's working with plant soil scientists or first responders, it's about getting the systems in the hands of the end users and seeing what works and what does not.

Mack Burke: OAIRE does a lot of different kinds of research, but one area that might be of particular interest to Oklahomans is what you're doing in regard to severe weather. Can you tell us about that?

Dr. Jamey Jacob: We actually work on both sides of the storms. Before the storm happens to be able to get better data, then after the storm happens to be able to assess the damage from storms such as the recent storms we've had this year in 2024.

Looking at the damage that's occurred due to tornadoes passing through towns such as Barnsdall, Claremore, and Sulfur. And this actually ties back into OAIRE mission, which is to help support researchers across the OSU campus. So, for example, related to storm damage assessment, we're working with structural engineers in the civil engineering program to be able to help get them additional data through aerial surveys so that way we can develop a digital model of the damage for the structural engineers to be able to evaluate not only how much damage was occurred due to the storm.

But also design stronger, more resilient structures.

Mack Burke: Complex problems like that seem to require a lot of specialization. How do these types of partnerships really help you guys drive innovation?

Dr. Jamey Jacob: While OAIRE's mission is focused on aerospace, how we use these emerging pieces of technology requires a much broader swath of expertise, and whether it's pilots and aviation managers, computer scientists and physicists to develop these digital twin models and algorithms for big data analysis or human factors experts to determine the best way for man to work with machine requires that we bring a lot of folks in, primarily other experts across the OSU system to be able to, you know, make OAIRE the best it can be.

Mack Burke: How do OAIRE's successes really translate to successes for Oklahoma?

Dr. Jamey Jacob: Well, we're utilizing, you know, a lot of resources have been developed here at OSU, such as the Innovation Foundation to help support our increased and broader mission in ensuring Oklahoma's aerospace economy has sufficient emerging technology resources. How do we bring to bear what OSU does really well in terms of being able to support these initiatives?

An example of this is OSU new Polytech program, which is really there to help modernize the aerospace pipeline for the future. And as part of that, we'll be developing new courses and credentialing processes really to prepare the next generation workforce all as part of our mission to really help support President Shrum's vision as being the preeminent land great university in the nation.

Mack Burke: Dr. Jacob, thanks for joining us.

Dr. Jamey Jacob: Thank you. I really appreciate it.