These Brookhaven College STEM students had a chance to interact with professionals and define their career goals through their externship with Sharyland Utilities L.P.
Contact: Debra Dennis
214-378-1851;
ddennis@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Jan. 4, 2016
(DALLAS) — Everybody talks about the hazards of winter, but STEM students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs at Brookhaven College think they’ve found a way to deal with one of those weather-related hazards. Drones, they say, could provide a closer look at the ice and snow that leads to downed power lines.
A group of those Brookhaven STEM students spent part of their fall semester working on a feasible alternative to human assessment of damage to power lines. The unmanned aircraft, they say, are quicker, more intelligent and able to offer a technical approach to smart metering. These future scientists and engineers pitched their idea to Sharyland Utilities L.P., a Texas-based utility affiliated with Hunt Consolidated Inc.
The biggest damage to power lines in winter is ice that can weigh down trees and topple power lines — an added expense to operating a utility like Sharyland, a Dallas-based company that serves 50,000 customers in 29 Texas counties.
The drone solution warrants a serious look, said Daniel Price, Sharyland’s vice president.
“The topics used in the student presentations such as the drone project are ideas that allow Sharyland to look at new technologies that can help find outages and get the lights back on more quickly,” Price said.
Mathematics and engineering students Oreoluwa Adedapo, Delia Pena, Malick Olayitan, Benjamin Hetrick, Estrella Rodriguez Perez, Israel Makambu and Christian Mpol and student leader Thomas Lee hope to make a lasting impact on the powerline operator.
Their research showed that drones could provide critical, up-close inspections of damaged lines, said Michael Bailey, a mathematics scholar at Brookhaven who serves as the students’ advisor.
Olayitan, a sophomore who is studying biomedical engineering, said the group contacted two companies about operating a drone. He added, “They charge $120 per hour to fly the drones. So we also looked at how much it would cost just to buy a drone.”
And drones, the students said, would require regulation by the Federal Aviation Administration. “We learned there are regulations and licensing requirements,” said Adedapo. “You can’t just go out and buy a drone. There’s a lot involved, like contracts and obtaining a pilot’s license before you can proceed. We really did a lot of research.”
The students found a company equipped with sensors and provided their findings to Sharyland.
In addition to the drone program, the group also suggested that Sharyland look at an enterprise software system program, which would benefit human resources, training and other areas that would collect and process ideas.
This team of DCCCD STEM students is the fourth group to work on an externship with Sharyland, carrying the momentum started by their predecessors. Each group builds on the work of the one that preceded it, Bailey said.
Makambu, a mechanical engineering sophomore, said the experience gave him a sense of focus about his career and where he might end up. “It made me more secure about what I’m majoring in. This is the real world,” he stated.
Adedapo made note of the differences in working for a grade in school and working for an employer. “In class, you do things for a grade,” said Adedapo, a civil engineering sophomore. “But over there, you only have one chance.”
In addition to providing experience, this program is a chance for students to interact with professionals and define their career goals, Bailey said. “This is a work experience and a learning experience. These are the brightest students at Dallas County Community College District,” he added.
Bailey said that the project is also an ideal opportunity for students to get a foot in the (industry) door. “It takes great skills to present a solution to a non-engineer,” Bailey explained. “Most companies want to see relevant work experience on a student’s resume, and these students will have that.”
Sharyland was founded by Hunter Hunt, who serves as chairman of the DCCCD Foundation’s board of directors; he also is president and co-CEO of Hunt Consolidated Inc.
For more information about the externship at Sharyland for Brookhaven STEM students, contact Bailey by phone at 972-860-4739 or by email at
michaelb@dcccd.edu.
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