The United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded Wichita State University’s
National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) a $23.5 million contract for Modeling
for Affordable, Sustainable Composites (MASC), aimed at developing a certification
framework for enabling advanced materials and structural concepts for automated manufacturing.
This program will expand the framework for developing innovative in-service inspection
technologies for advanced structures and bonded joints, validating high-fidelity composite
repair analysis techniques, and assessing aging composite structures for life extension
and structural enhancements.
NIAR’s newly established Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS) will
lead this program with partnerships between AFRL researchers, defense contractors,
and universities for enhancing tools for design-manufacture-certify advanced integrated
structures incorporating machine-learning and artificial intelligent algorithms with
automated technologies for manufacturing next-generation composite airframes.
“Wichita State has strategically invested in technology to assist the aviation and
manufacturing industries become more competitive and efficient, while providing applied
learning opportunities for our students,” said WSU Interim President Andy Tompkins.
“This extended partnership with the DoD and AFRL is an endorsement of the high-caliber
capabilities and expertise at this university and we’re honored to have the opportunity
to work with them in this capacity.”
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran visited NIAR with Air Force Under Secretary Matt Donovan
and Will Roper, Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, in
November.
“The fleet sustainment program signifies the immense value NIAR provides to our Air
Force and national defense,” said Sen. Moran. “I am pleased the Department of Defense
is increasingly more confident and reliant on the engineering talent in Wichita, and
that WSU and NIAR will be able to grow their efforts in support of the Air Force with
this recent award. The Air Force will undoubtedly benefit from having Kansans working
directly on this program, and I’ll continue working to bolster this already strong
partnership that has simultaneously advanced our nation’s defense and the Wichita
region.”
About NIAR
The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University provides research, testing, certification and training
for aviation and manufacturing technologies. Established in 1985, NIAR has a $70
million annual budget; a staff of 550; and nearly 1 million square feet of laboratory
and office space in four locations across the city of Wichita, the Air Capital of
the World. NIAR laboratories include Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Coatings, Advanced
Manufacturing, Aging Aircraft, Ballistics & Impact Dynamics, CAD/CAM, Composites &
Advanced Materials, Computational Mechanics, Crash Dynamics, Environmental & Electromagnetic
Test, Full-scale Structural Test, Nondestructive Test, Reverse Engineering, Robotics
& Automation, Virtual Reality and the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel.
The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the
greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly
15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas
of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and
12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation
Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use
areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to
the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on
Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.
