At Santa Clara University, students in the Robotic Systems Lab take on a truly unique responsibility: running mission control for satellites launched by NASA. The program is led by Chris Kitts, the lab’s founder and director, as well as director of external partnerships for the University.
“It’s amazing,” says Kitts, who has overseen the effort for more than two decades. “We have the communication stations; we have the mission control center; the industry engineers come to our location; and the students go through a course on how to control a satellite and what that means.”
It’s the kind of university-industry partnership that feels like a homerun. But not every partnership needs to be this high profile to be valuable.