Wichita State University’s Advanced Center for Virtual Engineering and Testing will
soon have a new name. The building’s renaming is a tribute to Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s
commitment to provide vital resources and connections that help Wichita State offer
impactful student experiences to drive prosperity for the city, region and state.
The building will renamed the Jerry Moran Center for Advanced Virtual Engineering
and Testing, with a dedication ceremony planned this fall.
The Jerry Moran Center is a 20,000-square-foot facility on WSU’s Innovation Campus.
The building houses Crash Dynamics, Building Block, Virtual Engineering and Flight
Test Labs, part of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). AVET supports
cutting-edge virtual and physical crash dynamics testing capabilities for the aviation
and greater transportation industries, while providing Wichita State students with
valuable applied learning experiences in an industry-based setting.
Through the dedication of the Jerry Moran Center for Advanced Virtual Engineering
and Testing, Wichita State recognizes Sen. Moran’s focus on Kansans, the advancement
of our nation’s defense and the future learning research.
“The Senator’s commitment to strengthen Wichita State and our nation’s defense programs
has raised awareness of the technology and talent available at Wichita State and led
to new partnerships focused on improving the efficiency of our military fleet,” said
John Tomblin, WSU Senior Vice President for Industry and Defense Programs.
These technologies include machine learning applications for fleet readiness; next
generation high temperature materials for long-range precision fires; and advanced
technologies for aircraft sustainment and repair.
“By dedicating this building to Jerry Moran, we honor an individual who has been a
partner, collaborator and advocate for Wichita State University and embodies our mission
to be an education, economic and cultural driver for our region,” said WSU President
Jay Golden.
Recently AVET collaborated with Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Engineering
Directorate in the virtual development and evaluation of various seating concepts
to ensure the safety of passengers being transported in Negatively Pressurized Conex
(NPC) modules designed to be carried by USAF cargo aircraft. The NPC system enables
the safe transport of individuals infected with the COVID-19 virus and other highly
infectious diseases.
“In a period of four weeks, the AVET team was able to evaluate the dynamic response
of various seat designs when subjected to emergency landing conditions,” said Lawrence
Rogers, Technical Director, Flight Systems Engineering Division, Engineering Directorate
for the U.S. Air Force. “NIAR’s virtual evaluation capability gave us the ability
to clearly identify and lower risk to our warfighters. Even if we would’ve had this
level of analysis fidelity, Dr. Olivares’ team still saved several months to a year.”
Wichita State University serves as the Kansas urban-based research university, enrolling
more than 20,000 students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries.
Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation
driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in
the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),
Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of
applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one
of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing
over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
