UMES Engineering Degree Could Open Doors at NASA

By WESM News - Stephen Williams

PRINCESS ANNE, MD – More students from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore may have a future working at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, following an approval by the state's Board of Regents to create a new four-year engineering program.

That's according to Keith Koehler, a Public Relations Specialist for the flight facility, based out of Wallops Island, Virginia.

The new engineering program still requires final approval from the Maryland Higher Education Commission. However, if approved, it would offer students a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, with concentrations in electrical, computer, mathematics and aerospace engineering.

I asked Koehler if the new UMES engineering program would provide Wallops with a larger pool of talent to recruit and hire:

Koehler: I think so; I mean we've been pushing for more technical degrees in the area - as in the past you've had to go off-Shore. [It's] having that ability for students to be able to stay on the [Eastern] Shore - and not only for us, but just for the growth of the Shore.

Koehler: When a student leaves the Shore, the chances of them coming back are probably a lot less. And so if you have those engineering degrees here on the Shore, and you keep those students here, then hopefully they'll stay here, and will be able to grow the technical areas and the technical fields, and those types of businesses for the area - which are usually high paying jobs. And then, of course, increase the economic development of the area.

Tune in to Eastern Shore Focus at 10 a.m., on Saturday, July 21 and July 28, 2007, to hear more about the current plans for NASA's Wallops Flight Facility - including the possibility of sending satellites from the shore, to the moon.