A jet engine in production at Rolls-Royce

The partnership between Rolls-Royce, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and the Commonwealth of Virginia promises great changes for higher education and citizens of Virginia. Announced in November 2007, the partnership agreement will foster collaborations between U.Va.’s School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) and the McIntire School of Commerce, Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and the Virginia Community College System.

The company’s donation of 10 acres of land in Prince George County, Va., will allow the University of Virginia to construct a facility to house the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing as well as undergraduate and graduate classrooms where courses in engineering can be held. The University of Virginia and Virginia Tech will jointly create and operate the Center for Advanced Manufacturing, and the facility will be leased from U.Va. This center also will support undergraduate internships and allow for expansion of undergraduate programs both in the classroom and in the workplace.

SEAS hopes the partnership will support additional chaired professorships, graduate fellowships, endowed internships and laboratory enhancements. The Commonwealth is contributing funding to U.Va. and Virginia Tech to help make these transformations possible.

“This partnership will allow us to expand our business minor, develop a new minor in manufacturing and increase the number of internships we can support, all of which is wonderful news for our undergraduate program,” says James H. Aylor, dean of U.Va.’s Engineering School. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for us to expand our curriculum and our collaborations within the University and with institutions throughout Virginia.”

Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine credits the excellence of Virginia universities with bringing Rolls-Royce to the area. As reported by the Petersburg, Va., “Progress-Index,” Kaine told audience members at the 127th annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce dinner held in January, “I learned something in working with Rolls-Royce. The most precious asset in the world … is brainpower. [U.Va. and Virginia Tech] are going to be at the table at virtually every deal in the future. … This Rolls-Royce deal is a bellwether.”

SEAS leadership agrees with the need for unity as the project moves forward.

“We hope to create a flagship facility in Prince George County that will be a strong presence in research and education,” says Barry Johnson, senior associate dean for research at U.Va.’s Engineering School. “We hope to have all institutions in the Commonwealth involved.”

While formal details of the partnership are still being discussed, here are a few things that this partnership will make possible:

A Research and Teaching Center
The 10 acres of land in Prince George County, Va., will be home to the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing. It also will be home to PRODUCED in Virginia classes. A joint program between SEAS and the Virginia Community College System, PRODUCED in Virginia allows students to earn a four-year engineering degree without leaving their community. Classes in this new center will serve undergraduates in the area and Rolls-Royce employees who wish to fulfill the first two years of an engineering degree at a local community college and then complete the last two years at the Prince George County facility with SEAS faculty.

Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program classes also will be held at the new facility, Johnson says. This distance learning program allows students to pursue engineering master’s degrees via video conferencing from classrooms on Grounds. During these real-time sessions, students will be able to fully participate in classroom discussions.

Johnson hopes the Center for Advanced Manufacturing will engage all universities throughout the Commonwealth in cross-industry research activities. The founding institutions — U.Va. and Virginia Tech — hope to involve other schools and industries in research related to logistics management, precision manufacturing and high-performance manufacturing. Other possible areas of collaborative research include corrosion combustion-related technology, fuel efficiency and green manufacturing.

Expansion of Curriculum and Faculty
The partnership with Rolls-Royce will allow SEAS to offer more courses and expand sections of current courses for the Engineering Business Minor. Offered in collaboration with the McIntire School of Commerce, the minor provides students with an interdisciplinary approach for not only designing new technologies, but also readying them for the marketplace. Student teams would work formally with Rolls-Royce to use their engineering knowledge to address real-world design challenges faced by the company.

A Rolls-Royce turboprop in testing.

The addition of a six-course manufacturing minor is also a possibility, according to Johnson. Faculty will include a chaired professor and one or two junior faculty members to support the increased teaching load. Focal points would likely be in the areas of mechanical, materials, electrical and computer, computer science, chemical and systems engineering.

In addition, an annual endowment shared with Virginia Tech should allow SEAS to support approximately 10 third- and fourth-year student interns per year to work for Rolls-Royce international facilities in the summer months.

Workforce Development Initiatives
Beyond opportunities for higher education, the new manufacturing facility would be a boon for the economies of Prince George County and Virginia.

The new facility could mean $500 million in economic development for Prince George County and bring more than 500 jobs to the Commonwealth in the coming years.

As a jet-engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce has a significant need to hire mechanical engineers. The company also is interested in hiring engineers who understand business, making SEAS’ Engineering Business Minor students promising candidates. Locally, the company is just beginning to recruit. “If all goes according to plan, we hope the site will be fully operational by the end of 2009, at which point it may employ as many as 170 people,” says Rolls-Royce spokesperson Mia Walton. Worldwide, Rolls-Royce has about 38,000 employees and an order book of $90 billion.

A brighter future is on the horizon. From economic stimulation to curriculum enhancements and strengthened relationships between industry and higher education, Rolls- Royce’s presence in the region benefits everyone involved. In the coming months, these hoped-for changes should become reality, paving the way for unprecedented partnerships and innovation.