SPARKS, Nev., September 18, 2015 – The University of Nevada, Reno this week welcomed leading thinkers in engineering and defense from the internationally-renowned Lincoln Laboratory Beaver Works, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. The group toured the University’s Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship, offering important guidance on approaches to cross-disciplinary and project-based academic programs and funding. The event was organized by Fatih and Eren Ozmen of Sparks-based Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), who founded the Ozmen Center in 2014.
“It was great to have the opportunity to share the Beaver Works model and vision,” said Dr. Robert T-I Shin, head of Lincoln Laboratory’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Tactical Systems Division, and director of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Beaver Works Center. “Innovation and impact are made through project-based learning, which is at the core of this model. Students work on large-scale projects in partnership with industry.”
In 2014, Dr. Shin received the Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education, recognizing “significant innovations and improvements to MIT education.” Dr. Shin and the group discussed similar project-centric educational collaborations connecting the University of Nevada, Reno campus and the Ozmen Center.
Other event attendees included University faculty such as President Marc Johnson, Associate Professor and Economics Department Chair Mehmet Tosun, and Vice President of Research and Innovation Mridul Gautum. Also in attendance were the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Randy Walden, and SNC owners Fatih and Eren Ozmen. MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, a research and development center, receives funding from the U.S. DOD.
“This meeting was a good first step in developing an important relationship in entrepreneurial education between the engineering program at MIT and the entrepreneurial and engineering programs at the University of Nevada, Reno,” said Chris Howard, executive director of the Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship.
The Ozmen Center opened in September 2014 as the result of an endowment from the Ozmens, who are alumni of the University. The center facilitates entrepreneurship through academics, professional education and training.
For more information on SNC visit www.sncorp.com and follow us at Facebook/Sierra Nevada Corporation. Sierra Nevada Corporation and SNC are trademarks of Sierra Nevada Corporation.
About SNC
SNC is a trusted global leader in aerospace and national security. Our innovative solutions enable connected protection through command, control and communications systems, as well as ISR, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum management, and other high capabilities for national security systems across all domains – sea, land, air, space and cyber. As a longstanding leader in defense technology, SNC is at the optimum intersection of commercial, defense and non-traditional contractors. We are one of the only privately owned mid-tier A&D contractors and we pride ourselves on our ability to invest early and often to ensure mission success on or ahead of schedule. It's part of our mission to always stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. Founded in 1963, SNC is owned by Chairwoman Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen.