The FAA has created a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence
for Advanced Materials.
The center, awarded jointly to the University of Washington
and Wichita State University, will conduct research, engineering
and prototype development toward the safe and reliable use
of advanced materials and composites in large commercial aircraft.
The new centers work will focus primarily on the safety
and certification of existing and emerging applications of
composites and advanced materials in commercial transport
aircraft. Specific projects will include evaluating data from
past applications, performing basic and applied research,
and deriving standard engineering practices.
Other academic institutions participating in the new center
are Washington State University, Northwestern University,
Oregon State University, Purdue University, Tuskegee University,
University of California at Los Angeles, University of Delaware,
and Edmonds Community College, Washington.
The FAAs share in the cost of the center will span
3 to 10 years and will total $300,000 to $500,000 each for
the University of Washington and Wichita State University
in the first year, with a minimum of $300,000 annually over
the next two years. Matching funds also are provided to the
center by the private sector.
Congress authorized the Air Transportation Centers of Excellence
in the Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering
and Development Authorization Act of 1990. This legislation
enables the FAA to partner with universities and industry
to conduct research towards improving aviation safety, environmental
impact and efficiency, as well as airspace and airport planning
and design.
The FAA has established six other Centers of Excellence for
computational modeling of aircraft structures, airport pavement
technology, operations research, airworthiness assurance,
general aviation and aircraft noise, and aviation emissions
mitigation.
For more information about the FAA Centers of Excellence
program, visit the COE web page at www.coe.faa.gov