Florida Tech to Award $129K in Link Foundation Simulation Fellowships
MELBOURNE, FLA. — The Link Foundation recently provided Florida Institute of Technology $129,000 to administer and award fellowships for doctoral students in the United States and Canada who are working to expand the field of modeling and simulation for training operators of complex systems. This area was pioneered by Edwin Link in 1929 when he invented the first successful flight simulator. Nearly 90 years later, the Link Foundation remains committed to this continuously improving field where simulation can play a critical role in safely training the next generation of pilots and other operators.
Marilyn Link, Edwin Link’s sister and Florida Tech Trustee Emerita, said she is pleased with the university’s ability to oversee this program and to evaluate the most promising recipients.
“FIT has a great tradition of leadership in aeronautics and ocean engineering and marine sciences and has been a great partner in our efforts,” she said.
Florida Tech is proud to work with the Link Foundation on this shared mission.
Program administrator Donna Wilt, a 1995 Link Fellow, said, “It is inspiring to see the wonderful proposals we receive and to play a role in facilitating advanced research in modeling and simulation for training applications.”
Recently awarded projects have included the development of a “virtual coach” to give feedback to trainees and research to combine the best features of virtual reality with a geometrically accurate tactile cockpit simulator.
In addition to allowing Florida Tech to lead this important program, the Link Foundation, Marilyn Link and fellow Trustee Andrew Clark, who received a Link Foundation internship in 1979, have made it possible for Florida Tech to be home to the Edwin A. and Marion C. Link Collection in the Evans Library. Here Florida Tech’s “Link Scholars” have organized and digitized 1,840 historical items related to Edwin Link’s work and legacy.
Evans Library was recently selected by the Link Foundation to preserve research reports written by Link Fellows in three scientific and engineering areas: (1) Modeling, Simulation and Training, (2) Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation, and (3) Energy. The Scholarship Repository of Florida Institute of Technology will serve as an archival repository for the scholarly materials from those fellowship organizations affiliated with the Link Foundation that complement research activities on the Florida Tech campus.
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