$72,000 Donation to Enhance Ridgewater NDT Program
September 13, 2022
Ridgewater College’s Nondestructive Testing Technology (NDT) program is the fortunate recipient of nearly $72,000 in donated equipment and inspection standards from Cincinnati-based General Electric (GE) Aviation.
According to Ridgewater NDT instructor Jerry Voelker, the generous donation included ultrasonic and eddy current inspection equipment, a turbine blade inspection kit with supporting blades, and ultrasonic calibration blocks. “Most of the equipment was very lightly used with some new as well,” he said.
During the last two years, GE Aviation has been partnering with Ridgewater and its NDT students through summer internships and employment. This summer, student Bronte Carpenter was an intern for four months, spending most of her time working on airplane engines. She expressed appreciation for the experience and the added confidence. As a result of the partnership and company equipment upgrades, Carpenter was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to assist GE Aviation personnel to organize, document and ship this substantial donation to Ridgewater.
“This donation reinforces industry’s belief and support of our program,” explained Ridgewater’s Matt Feuerborn, Dean of Instruction overseeing the NDT program. “Ridgewater College, our students, and our business training partners will all benefit from this generous gift.”
“A donated T-root GE turbine blade inspection kit and supporting blades are particularly exciting for us since they represent a real-world NDT inspection solution to a major aviation-based problem that occurred in recent history,” Voelker added.