Jet Turbine Service, Inc. (JTS), a corporation located in the Florida Atlantic University Research Park, was recently awarded a 2002 Supplier Excellence Award from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSE&G), one of the country's largest utility groups. FAU Engineering co-op students helped make this award possible.

The award, for "outstanding work, quick responsiveness and ongoing ability to provide creative solutions," was given to JTS in appreciation for the significant impact made by the company in supplying out-of-production gas turbine parts to the industry. In receiving this award, Peter Lo Bello, JTS president and CEO and FAU football founder, recognized the important role that his fellow employees and FAU engineering co-op students played in re-engineering parts and designing tools and fixtures to meet the overhaul requirements of older-generation engines.

JTS employs three or four engineering students each semester, who work part-time to perform the engineering requirements, gaining business experience they will likely find useful when they graduate. "As a result of our home-grown 'Gas Turbine Institute,' some students elect to change their majors," said Lo Bello. "Others pursue a career in this field back in their native countries. One student has become a full-time employee of JTS."

Lo Bello and his son, Peter Lo Bello, Jr., the company's Parts and Services manager, attended a special Supplier Recognition Luncheon Program on January 15 at PSE&G's home office in Newark where they received this prestigious award and commended FAU students: Matthew DeLisa, Daniel Eng, Arun Jethalaia, Kaushik Korat, Lina Lopez, Jean-Charles Mas and Stephanie Korat.

"This is a perfect example of the synergy possible between a private company in the FAU Research Park and the University," said Dr. Larry F. Lemanski, vice president for Research and Graduate Studies. "With Jet Turbine Services, Inc., such close collaborations have been the rule. In fact, we are now discussing a possible collaborative research project that will seek federal funding through cooperation between the College of Engineering, other FAU partners and JTS."

Article From FAU Today Online, March 2003