Patrick Clements on his Co-op at GE Aviation in Cincinnati:

GE Aviation produces commercial jet engines, military jet engines, and engines for marine applications. They are the world's leading producer of large and small commercial jet engines and military jet engines. GE Aviation is publicly owned and the stock is listed at the NYSE.

Patrick Clements, mechanical engineering, graduated from Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, Kentucky . He also attended St. Catharine College before transferring to UK in 2003. His third co-op rotation was spent in the Advanced Mechanical Design Group: Advanced Engine Cold Section.

  "Spring '07 was my third rotation at GE-Aviation and my second in a row in Advanced Mechanical Design (AMD). I chose to return to AMD because of the opportunity to take on more responsibility than co-ops are traditionally given. I returned to AMD to fill in for one of the staff engineers while he returned to OSU to finish his masters work. I was part of a design team designing a fan test rig that is intended to demonstrate several new technologies that will appear on military fighter engines in 7-10 years. These technologies will allow engines to attain both better specific fuel consumption and higher thrust-to-weight ratios which ultimately translate into extended range for fighter aircraft.

I was responsible for shafting design. When I arrived in January the general geometry of the shafts had been set. My role was to complete the detail design work. This included sizing many parts so as to attain "pilot" or interference fits that properly engage at all operating conditions, sizing and design of several spanner nuts, material selection, bolted joint design, configuration analysis to ensure that parts could be assembled in the correct order, and working closely with drafters to ensure that the parametric model and engineering drawings represent design intent. By April, the two main shaft designs were nearing completion and I began working with vendors to attain quotes and make a selection. Through the program that I have worked on and another program that my group is gearing up to begin, I have been exposed to extremely new and interesting technology that will be on the most advanced fighter engines in approx. 10 years. I have had a very interesting term and never felt "in over my head", which is a relief considering one of the shafts I'm working on is extremely complex and will cost approx. $100,000.

  Co-oping at GE-Aviation (GEAE) has been a wonderful experience. My level of challenge and responsibility has increased accordingly with my increased experience and academic accomplishment. My work has been highly technical in nature requiring extensive use of parametric modeling software, excel, mathematics, problem solving, and most importantly a "common sense" perspective. Through my work at GEAE I have been exposed to many new technologies and seen and interacted with all types of jet engines and related tooling and equipment.

  The day-to-day job required me to use my knowledge of statics and mechanical design to do quick stress calculations by hand and then size the corresponding feature appropriately. I was also often required to think about and consider how the part would actually be made so as to create part geometry that is manufacturable and less expensive. Extensive consideration also had to be given to how the whole assembly of parts would come together. More than once I designed parts that could not be made and/or assembled; my co-workers found this quite amusing. It has been very fulfilling to know that parts that I designed will be connected to a 30,000 horsepower electric motor and are critical to this test rig's success.