Northwest Aerospace News August | September Issue No. 4 | Page 51

CENTER OF EXCELLENCE SPOTLIGHT
A
ccording to Del Pinto, things have
been changing for a long time. He said
that the emphasis in mechanical engi-
neering in the 1960s was on the use of
aluminum, titanium or metal. He said that
now people are using composite materials
more than elemental materials in aircraft
production. That concept has created
better efficiencies.
He said, “On a plane everything needs
to communicate together, yet none of the
systems are working together yet. All sup-
pliers are using different systems; nothing
is communicating. Everyone should be
using the same equipment and relays.”
He added that universities will need to
react by changing their training programs
more rapidly than in the past. “The basic
understanding of composites has to be
expanded in the universities. Students will
need to understand how this works with
different materials to gain efficiencies.
Knowing polymers, resins and carbon
materials … and an understanding of
thermoplastics and thermosets are being
expanded in schools,” Del Pinto said. He
added that changing materials in aircraft
design and manufacturing is immediate
and critical, “Materials science is becom-
ing more important.”
At Zodiac Aerospace, they make
AeroSystems, cabin systems, seats and
related services and they engage with
the educational community, through
contracts with groups like JCATI, or
recently with the Air Force Academy
and Brigham Young University to look
at the human factor in overhead bins
on aircraft.
To understand Del Pinto’s approach, it’s
helpful to know that he is educated with
a Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry,
Master’s in Mathematics, and a Ph.D. in
Thermodynamics. He asks, how could the brackets hold-
ing the overhead bins be more organ-
ic? “It seems that things should have
a naturally occurring shape,” he said
when talking about a more efficient
and functional bin. For anyone who
has tried to cram a too-big carry-on
into the hard plastic bins, it seems that
some inno