STARKVILLE —Three airplanes from Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, as well as an unmanned aircraft system, will be displayed Saturday and Sunday at the Wings Over Columbus Air Show at Columbus Air Force Base.

Gates open at 10 a.m., and the air show begins at noon and ends at 5 p.m. on both days. The event is free and open to the public.

The following Raspet aircraft are scheduled for display during the event:

• A Boeing Stearman PT-17, the centerpiece of Raspet’s manned aircraft fleet, which was used by the Army Air Corps from 1941-1943 as a trainer for World War II pilots.
• A Cessna L319, a one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft originally built for the U.S. Marine Corps as a forward observer aircraft, which is used by Raspet as a chase airplane during its unmanned aircraft research.
• A Grumman AA5B Tiger, the first prototype built of the Grumman American Tigers, which is used by Raspet as a training aircraft for its flight crew.

Guests at the air show may also access the STEM Expo, featuring approximately 30 science, technology, engineering and mathematics exhibits, during the event. The STEM expo also will be open to groups from area schools on March 25.

For more information on Wings Over Columbus, visit the event’s website, wocairshow.com/.

MSU receives funds from POWER initiative

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University was awarded $1.49 million by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to infuse virtual reality (VR) career exploration and job training into the education-to-workforce pipeline in Clay, Kemper, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties.

This award is part of a recently announced $21 million package supporting 21 projects serving 211 coal-impacted counties through ARC’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. POWER targets federal resources to communities affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations and coal-related supply chain industries. Additional support for Infusing Virtual Reality in the Workforce is provided by East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) and the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).

Under the project, MSU’s Research and Curriculum Unit (RCU) will partner with TRANSFRVR, an education software company that provides immersive, hands-on VR training to Fortune 500 companies, to enhance the career and technical education (CTE) infrastructure in Appalachian Mississippi. VR simulations will introduce students to numerous career pathways, including middle-skill jobs that do not require a four-year degree.

TRANSFRVR will deliver this immersive career exploration and skills training through VR to middle and high school students enrolled in Cyber Foundations and CTE courses in six area school districts—West Point Consolidated, Kemper County, Columbus Municipal, Lowndes County, Noxubee County and Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated — and CTE students at EMCC. The VR experiences will provide students the education and training opportunities to achieve mastery, acquire confidence and earn industry-recognized credentials that will prepare them to enter Mississippi’s workforce.

EMCC will house VR labs at the Communiversity in Columbus and its Scooba campus that can be used to enhance training for its students and individuals in the workforce with support from the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District (GTPDD), Golden Triangle Development Link (LINK), PACCAR Inc. and Oktibbeha County Hospital (OCH).

Morgan picked for fellowship

Columbia Law School student Damonta Morgan, a native of Columbus, and a graduate of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, was selected for a Phillips Fellowship in the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), a prestigious postgraduate opportunity awarded to only two law students every year.

As a fellow, Morgan will support the work of OSG attorneys as they supervise and conduct government cases litigated in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Morgan received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was the student speaker at his 2019 graduation. He credits his high school mock trial coach, Scott Colom, for putting him “on the path to getting the information I needed to go to college and law school.”

MSU student earns fellowship

STARKVILLE — A Mississippi State business economics and foreign language double major will spend his summer as part of the prestigious Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellowship at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

John “Tyler” Dickerson of Starkville credits his university experiences as a Presidential Scholar and member of the Student Association with helping him gain confidence and prepare a successful application for the competitive award.

The Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College student who holds the Charles and Pat Lee Presidential Endowed Scholarship will be among a cohort of PPIA fellows selected from universities across the country with public policy interests and an array of different backgrounds. Dickerson said the fellowship is like a “training ground for people who are going to pursue a master’s degree in public policy.”

EMCC students place in art competition

Three East Mississippi Community College students placed in the Mississippi Community College Art Instructors Association’s Student Art Competition and Art Show.

The students are art majors on EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus and each one was recognized in the Printmaking category of the statewide competition.

West Point resident Honor Brown earned second place with a print of her grandmother titled “Grammy.” Caledonia resident Ella Bowen came in third for her print of a beehive with bees on it titled “Honey.” Sarah Banes, of Starkville, was awarded an honorable mention for a piece called “Butterflies” depicting butterflies and flowers.

Bowen also earned an honorable mention in the Drawing category for a piece titled “Paper Bag.” The students said they enjoyed competing.

Students from community colleges across Mississippi submitted artwork for the annual competition.