The university’s Aero Club hosted a lecture recently in the Peterson Auditorium with guest speaker Michael Ambrose, who spoke about Sikorsky, aircraft manufacturing, his experiences and future plans for innovation at the university.

Ambrose is chair of the university’s board of governors, and has roughly 40 years of experience in engineering working at Sikorsky Aircraft. During his time working at Sikorsky, Ambrose held many executive positions, including Chief Engineer and VP of Engineering & Technology, vice president of Enterprise Business Transformation and vice president of International Government Center.

He also earned two patents for the aircraft sliding door system, and telescoping refueling probe. Ambrose served as the president of the board of directors of the University of New Haven Alumni Association from 2012 until 2014. Currently, Ambrose is the vice president for the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and an independent board director for RBC Bearings, which designs, manufactures and sells components for industrial, defense and aerospace industries.

Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of aerospace company Lockheed Martin. It is a manufacturer of American aircrafts that is based in Stratford, Conn. The company designs and builds helicopters for military and civilian use, and is known for the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, arguably the most iconic helicopter in the U.S. military.

Ambrose earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Haven in 1984. He was a member of the university’s track and field team and was inducted into the University of New Haven Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991, owning seven of the university’s track records. Ambrose also earned a master’s degree in engineering management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2016, he was inducted into the university’s Engineering Hall of Fame, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering in 2019.

While Ambrose did speak about his time at Sikorsky, the main focus of his retelling of his experiences was not his accomplishments, but rather the lessons and knowledge he gained from those accomplishments. He told students of both his successes and his failures, offering students advice for their future careers.

Ambrose urged students to get involved in the school for their future success, and pushed for students to stay involved with the school even after graduation through the Alumni Association.
“I will say, you know one of the things that I want to see more of is through the Alumni Association, get to know who those are, because ultimately hopefully a lot of you end up being part of the Alumni Association,” Ambrose said.

The reason for the encouragement to join the association is to encourage connections which can help students ensure success.

“That was one of the things I saw at MIT really effectively, is that they had an alumni base that was super connected to their current students,” he said. Ambrose also included involvement in clubs and with professors as a way to gain industry connections.

For students with any questions or concerns regarding the Aero Club, you can contact them via email at unhaero@newhaven.edu