FAA awards Wichita State $684K to study unmanned aerial systems
Jan. 22, 2021
By WSU Strategic Communications
Contact: Lainie Mazzullo, director of news and media relations, 316-978-3409 or lainie.mazzullo@wichita.edu.
Wichita State University will receive $684,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) for three programs aimed at increasing safety measures for the use of unmanned aerial
systems (UAS).
The awards are for fiscal year 2021 and include $464,000 to lead Small UAS (sUAS)
Mid-Air Collision (MAC) Likelihood studies; $120,000 to support the Validation of
Visual Operation Standards for sUAS; and $100,000 to support High-Bypass UAS Engine
Ingestion Tests. They will be conducted through the National Institute for Aviation Research.
In total, the FAA awarded $5.8 million in research, education and training grants
to universities engaged with ASSURE, including Embry Riddle Aeronautical University,
Kansas State University, New Mexico State University, North Carolina State University,
Oregon State University, Ohio State University, University of Alabama, University
of Alaska, University of Kansas and University of North Dakota.
“These universities are making great strides in advancing the Department’s efforts
to integrate UAS safely and efficiently into our Nation’s airspace system, ultimately
delivering new transportation solutions and economic benefits for the American people,”
said scting U.S. Secretary of Transportation Steven G. Bradbury.
The FAA’s Center of Excellence for UAS is advancing the administration’s transportation
and economic goals that air travel provides to the nation. The Center of Excellence UAS universities received a total of $5,822,990 to advance specific goals and projects.
“These universities are making great strides in advancing our efforts to safely and
efficiently integrate UAS into our nation’s airspace system,” said FAA Administrator
Steve Dickson. “Each grant is designed to explore the questions that will lead to
greater UAS and unmanned air carrier integration, which will ultimately deliver new
transportation solutions and economic benefits for the American people.”
More than 1.7 million recreational and commercial drones are in the active UAS fleet.
That number is expected to grow to as high as 2.31 million by 2024. The ASSURE grants
are aimed at continuing and enhancing the safe and successful integration of drones
into the nation’s airspace system (NAS).
The FAA has established 13 Centers of Excellence in critical topic areas focusing
on unmanned aircraft systems; alternative jet fuels and environment; general aviation
safety; commercial space transportation; airliner cabin environment and intermodal
transportation research; aircraft noise and aviation emissions mitigation; advanced
materials; general aviation research; airworthiness assurance; operations research;
airport pavement and technology; computational modeling of aircraft structures; and
technical training and human performance.
Wichita State University serves as the Kansas urban-based research university, enrolling
more than 15,000 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.
