Wright State University’s chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) partnered with Wright State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science to host the fifth annual Wright Brothers Day on Thursday.
The event celebrated the legacy of Wright State’s namesakes Orville and Wilbur Wright, who piloted the world’s first powered aircraft into the air in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. Wright Brothers Day marks the anniversary of Wilbur Wright’s world-record breaking 39 minute flight over Huffman Prairie near Fairborn in 1905.
The event sought to commemorate the Wright Brothers’ accomplishments, but it also acted as an engineering expo to highlight work and research from today’s innovators. Presenters spanned from local innovation groups like the Wright Brothers Research Institute, all the way up to NASA representatives.
“We want to celebrate the Wright Brothers and their legend, but we also want to celebrate current innovation today and go into the more modern technology to see what has sparked from the Wright Brothers’ original invention,” said Aleasiah Howard, President of AMA WSU.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science spearheaded the engineering presentations at the event. Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Mike Saville suggests that Wright Brothers Day is a great way for the community to see what the university has to offer.
“As a university, we’re trying to prepare our students to go out into the workforce. Here, our students are able to learn and demonstrate this technology and develop it in a way that they can be productive employees down the road,” Saville said. “It just showcases what Wright State can bring to this region. Not just today, but throughout the year.”
AMA also provided food and entertainment alongside the presentations. Attendees could partake in free pizza and drinks, take selfies at the selfie station, try their hands at aviation with a flight simulator or go see the returning Wright Brothers impersonators.
Projected attendance at the event was between 300 and 500 guests, but Howard thinks that attendance topped those numbers. “With it being our fifth year, we wanted to make this event better than ever, and I think we’ve done that,” Howard said.
