AÉROÉTS positions ÉTS as a world-class school for the aerospace industry

MONTREAL, Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - More than 170 representatives of Montreal's aerospace community were present last night at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), to celebrate the official inauguration of AÉROÉTS. This event took place during the first AÉROÉTS Alumni Evening, bringing together the many ÉTS graduates pursuing a career in the aerospace industry.

"Aerospace is one of the five key business sectors in ÉTS's strategic research plan, stated Dr. Yves Beauchamp, CEO, ÉTS. AÉROÉTS is a model of integration across the traditional engineering disciplines, with the goal of better responding to industry needs. The partnerships announced today contribute to positioning ÉTS as a world-class school for the aerospace industry."

"AÉROÉTS is a group whose objective is to represent, promote and integrate ÉTS's teaching and research activities in the field of aerospace, to better meet the requirements of industry ", declared Dr. Hany Moustapha, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director, AÉROÉTS. " Since its creation in March 2010, AÉROÉTS has been able to mobilize aerospace at ÉTS, as evidenced by these three new strategic partnerships."

Firstly, ÉTS announced yesterday the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Based in Florida, ERAU is the most prestigious aviation-focused school in the world. "There is a clear complementarity between Embry-Riddle, whose reputation in aerospace teaching is well-established, and ÉTS's recognized strength in industry collaboration. We are very proud of this partnership which will encourage bilateral exchange of students and professors, as well as collaboration for research and teaching and between our student clubs." stated Dr. Richard Heist, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of ERAU, Daytona Beach.

ÉTS also announced yesterday the creation of the Pratt & Whitney (P&WC) Advanced Propulsion Centre. This initiative brings together the activities of the NSERC-P&WC Industrial Research Chair on Propulsion Systems Integration and Optimization, of which Dr. Moustapha is the Executive Chairholder, three P&WC motors dedicated to teaching and several research projects in the field of advanced manufacturing. These investments amount to a value of approximately $ 5M for research and teaching in the propulsion field at ÉTS. A total of seventeen professors are active in this area.

Dr. John Saabas, President of P&WC, recalls the long history of collaboration between the company and universities, and in particular with ÉTS. "With the creation of this Centre at ÉTS, we are proudly pursuing this tradition with the goal of training the next generation of highly qualified engineers."

Lastly, ÉTS announced a partnership agreement with Marinvent Corporation and Bombardier Aerospace to offer specialized training in airborne systems certification and flight test engineering to its students pursuing a Masters in Aerospace. This partnership will also allow for custom training in these disciplines for engineers working on some of Bombardier's major projects, such as the Cseries.

Mr. John Maris, President of Marinvent Corporation, stated that "Marinvent Corpo-ration is proud to collaborate with ÉTS to make it the first engineering school in Canada to offer advanced training in certification and flight testing with both a highly sophisticated research flight simulator and Piaggio Avanti flying test bench."

AÉROÉTS key figures:

• More than 45 professors active in aerospace, representing 250 years of industry experience.
• 320 student interns in Montreal aerospace companies in 2011.
• Approximately 70 industry parters in this sector.
• Close to 80 research projects, representing $ 7M in funding.
• 4 research chairs.
• The Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation (ICIA).

SOURCE ECOLE DE TECHNOLOGIE SUPERIEURE, UNIVERSITE DU QUEBEC

Image with caption: "From left to right : Hany Moustapha, Director, AÉROÉTS, ÉTS; Richard Heist, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, ERAU Daytona Beach; Maj Mirmirani, Dean of Engineering, ERAU Daytona Beach; Yves Beauchamp, CEO, ÉTS. (CNW Group/ECOLE DE TECHNOLOGIE SUPERIEURE, UNIVERSITE DU QUEBEC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111122_C8298_PHOTO_EN_7074.jpg

Image with caption: "From left to right : Hany Moustapha, Director, AÉROÉTS, ÉTS; Frédéric Lefebvre, Manager, Projects and Product Technology Development, P&WC; Yves Beauchamp, CEO, ÉTS. (CNW Group/ECOLE DE TECHNOLOGIE SUPERIEURE, UNIVERSITE DU QUEBEC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111122_C8298_PHOTO_EN_7078.jpg

Image with caption: "From left to right : Hany Moustapha, Director, AÉROÉTS, ÉTS; Yves Beauchamp, CEO, ÉTS; John Maris, President, Marinvent Corporation; Jean-Paul LeMarquis, Dean, Bombardier Engineering University, Bombardier Aerospace. (CNW Group/ECOLE DE TECHNOLOGIE SUPERIEURE, UNIVERSITE DU QUEBEC)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111122_C8298_PHOTO_EN_7075.jpg