Murfreesboro’s Noon Rotary Club members gained a glimpse of the MTSU Department of Aerospace’s unique Air Traffic Control Training and Research Facility on Tuesday.

“I was impressed with all of it. It’s very high technology,” said Bart Walker, Noon Rotary Club president and owner of radio station WGNS. “With all the things in air-traffic control, MTSU is on the cutting edge.”

Alumnus, retired U.S. Army colonel and local businessman Bob Farris asked numerous questions of MTSU personnel when they showcased the 360-degree ATC simulator and the neighboring NexSim radar lab.

“I thought it was an outstanding demonstration of the new technology they’re trying to advance at MTSU,” Farris (class of ’55), owner of Farris Tax Services, said. “It is a top-rate university in the country. … Air-traffic control is a very complex field where people have to avoid making mistakes.”

“I’m extremely impressed,” said Karen Cothern, executive meeting manager at Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center. “I’m proud to have some affiliation with MTSU through my job. It is technology at its best.”

Murfreesboro Chiropractic Clinic's Gordon Johnson and Middle Tennessee Medical Center CEO GordonFerguson, essentially shared the identical thought following the field trip by the Noon Rotary group: Neither realized this level of technology and training is available in Murfreesboro.

“This is state-of-the-art. It’s Murfreesboro’s hidden gem,” said Melissa Cassidy, group sales manager with DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro, and one of approximately 70 Noon Rotary Club members visiting the facility in the Business and Aerospace Building.

MTSU unveiled the $3.2 million ATC tower lab and NexSim radar lab to the public earlier this year. Students began training in January.