Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) announces
a second multi-million dollar U.S. Department of Defense contract, this time a three-year
$33 million contract from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation
& Missile Center for a project focused on emerging materials for high-speed missile
applications.
The announcement comes on the heels of a recent three-year $23.5 million contract
with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory for Modeling for Affordable, Sustainable
Composites, aimed at developing a certification framework for enabling advanced materials
and structural concepts for automated manufacturing.
The new program will support the CCDC AvMC’s objectives to reduce weight and cost
of advanced missile systems while increasing performance. NIAR will utilize its extensive
material testing, characterization and qualification capabilities to pursue multiple
programs with CCDC AvMC that will fill existing capability gaps on advanced material
characterization, structural modeling and analysis and application specific prototypes.
“These programs are integral to the future of our military and the future of our students,”
said Wichita State University Interim President Andy Tompkins. “The expertise of our
aerospace faculty and staff is crucial in advancing the efforts of the Department
of Defense and in providing the ultimate applied learning experience for Wichita State
graduate and undergraduate students – giving them an advantage no other university
in the country can match.”
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran has been an integral supporter and partner for increased
visibility of WSU-NIAR’s capabilities with the DoD.
“Wichita State University is an important and reliable partner to the Department of
Defense,” said Sen. Moran. “The engineering expertise and talent cultivated under
Dr. John Tomblin’s leadership will advance the Army Combat Capabilities Development
Command’s (CCDC AvMC’s) missile development efforts – especially given the value that
hypersonics will play in the future of our military. I will continue to support partnerships
between WSU and the Army and look forward to future initiatives that emerge from this
partnership.”
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.
