Jill Oliver

Operating an airport is much like managing a city. Every day more than 25,000 people fly in and out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). RDU is run like a business; its core service being to develop and maintain an up-to-date air transportation infrastructure for aircraft. The aerospace industry manifests itself throughout operations at RDU. All the engineering and mechanical principles of flight play out hundreds of times a day, 365 days a year, at the airport. During her externship, Ms. Oliver will explore the science of planning, managing and maintaining an airport. She will work with on-site engineers to gain exposure to and understanding of the breadth of skills necessary for an airport to function smoothly. She will learn about and design lessons based on many topics including airport design, land use plans, aircraft flow, safety, and future growth. She will also be exposed to an airport’ environmental issues including management of fuel spills, de-icing and runoff, and will learn about the technology hardware and software vital for coordinating mass transportation.