DAGSI – The Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute

The DAGSI Mission

DAGSI’s mission is to develop and support world-class graduate engineering education and research programs, thereby contributing to Ohio’s economic growth and development. DAGSI programs are designed to support several key objectives:

Strengthen Ohio’s academic community in engineering education and research
Enhance and expand graduate engineering education in Ohio
Encourage and support advanced research in engineering in Ohio
Provide skilled engineering talent to Ohio’s workforce
Provide financial assistance to Ohio students through competitive scholarship and fellowship programs

The DAGSI partnership effectively expands regional engineering education and research opportunities at the masters and doctoral levels. DAGSI’s ultimate objective is to support Ohio’s economic growth by strengthening the intellectual infrastructure in technology and developing engineering workforce talent.

283

Collaborative Projects

Since 2004

DAGSI Graduate Success Story

Working my way through college was an interesting process. It took multiple jobs waiting tables to pay the bills while trying to stay caught up with tuition costs. I thought things would get easier when I graduated, but they didn’t. Even with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an internship to show I had experience most companies weren’t interested once I mentioned I planned on getting a master’s degree. But, without an engineering job, I couldn’t pay for a graduate degree anyway.

I asked many of the professors at a few colleges about Graduate Research Assistantships but none had funding that wasn’t already allocated. After searching for over a year I was recommended to a professor at Wright State University with a research topic funded through DAGSI. That program enabled me to do research with The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for two years on fundamental fluid mechanics in turbines for turbomachinery applications. That research has now been used in more than 10 publications. The success of that research effort led to an opportunity to do compressor research and testing for AFRL as a career immediately following my graduate work.

I am now a Mechanical Engineer with some Aerospace Engineering responsibilities for AFRL at the Compressor Research Facility (CRF). I’ve been working in that capacity for almost two years now and am loving it.

-Philip Bear; USAF AFMC AFLR/RQTX

“This program continues to exceed our objectives and is bringing tangible value to AFRL.”
Mick Hitchcock
AFRL/SB
“Funding these students has been a key factor in my recent promotion to Ohio Research Scholars Endowed Chair Professor. The projects have provided ‘seed’ funding for big ideas and projects relating to bigger money, including a $300k Army grant for 3 years, and numerous collaborations with Penn State, The Pennsylvania University, Northwestern, and other institutions, journal articles, invited talks at international conferences, and lasting connections with graduating students in diverse areas. The DAGSI program has connected with a number of lasting collaborators at AFRL as well and had enabled me and my students to access the equipment and expertise there.”
C. Muratore
University of Dayton
“I credit the DAGSI program with multiple AFOSR awards and AFRL Collaborative Centers. This is by helping to create close collaborations with AFRL personnel that has lead to multiple research projects following on from DAGSI efforts. Here are the following grants that have stemmed from DAGSI projects:

2011 AFOSR Young Investigator Award - $360,000
2017 AFOSR Grant - $1,214,976
2013 AFRL Collaborative Center in Structural Sciences - $3,500,000
2013 AFRL Collaborative Center in Aeronautical Sciences -$2,500,000

This demonstrates that a small amount of funding with DAGSI can create bridges that can lead to much bigger amounts of funding from outside the State of Ohio.”
J. McNamara
The Ohio State University
“I personally believe the DAGSI program is a great benefit for students, both early and late in their tenure. I received DAGSI funding going into the last year of my Ph.D. studies. Not only did DAGSI allow myself and the Paily lab to expand and highlight a custom model we were developing, it also enabled me to make contacts with individuals at WPAFB. These relationships opened up into an employment offer upon my graduation and having such a base has resulted in a quick advancement to my current position.”
R. Agans, 711th Human Performance Wing
AFRL