DAYTON — A jobs fair this week at the Dayton Convention Center features the employers and jobs critical to Dayton’s future as a hub of aerospace expertise.
The Air Force Institute of Technology and Aeronautical Systems Center from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and defense contractors Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., CACI International Inc., MacAulay-Brown Inc. and Greentree Group are among those participating in the job fair at the TechNet-Aero conference today and Wednesday.
A similar job fair at last year’s Dayton conference, then known as InfoTech, attracted more than 400 participants, conference Chairwoman Linda Skinner said Monday. Scientists, engineers and program managers are in demand.
The TechNet-Aero conference annually brings together military, industry and academic research leaders for a focus on defense technology. The event, which attracts top Air Force officials who oversee the service’s technology development and acquisition, has been retooled this year to embrace newly added research programs at Wright-Patterson, a key driver of the region’s economy.
Among the new features are demonstrations of neuromedical imaging technology and unmanned aerial vehicle testing and evaluation.
The Dayton region, designated in 2009 by the state as Ohio’s hub of aerospace innovation and opportunity, has made it a long-term priority to develop itself as a nationally recognized center of UAV and sensors expertise.
A key to that effort is obtaining federal approval of designated airspace for test-flying unmanned aircraft and their electronic intelligence and surveillance payloads. The Air Force Research Laboratory has requested Federal Aviation Administration approval to fly small UAVs for military development purposes within five miles of Wil- mington Air Park, a onetime Air Force base in Clinton County. Sinclair Community College has asked for FAA approval of airspace at the Springfield Air National Guard base for civilian training flights of UAVs.
This week’s conference will also focus on medical systems and research of human performance interaction with technology, said Skinner, a member of the Dayton chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association that produces the event. That reflects the aerospace medicine, sensors and human performance research programs that were relocated from out-of-state bases this year to Wright-Patterson to create “centers of excellence” that were the goal of the nation’s 2005 base realignment and closure decisions.
“We really wanted it to reflect all of the capabilities that are taking place in the region,” Skinner said.
Wright-Patterson is Ohio’s largest single-site employer, with more than 27,000 employees and an estimated annual economic impact of $5 billion.
Job seekers may register the day of the job fair at the Dayton Convention Center, 22 E. Fifth St. in downtown Dayton. Those who cannot attend may email their employment histories to coxohiomedia@ e-jobfairs.com. Cox Media Group Ohio, owner of the Dayton Daily News, is an advertising partner of the TechNet-Aero conference.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242.
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