Washington and Wichita Split Center Funding

Both the University of Washington and Wichita State University will receive funding from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a Center for Excellence in Advanced Materials. Washington is strategically located near Boeing, where it can play an integral role in the development of the 7E7. Wichita State already performs 70 percent of FAA-funded composite research, allowing the FAA to more efficiently use new funding.

The University of Washington will receive up to $500,000 (USD) per year for three years from the FAA to create its Center for Excellence in Advanced Materials. Boeing will also contribute to the Center. Research will focus on economical, high quality manufacturing processes, education for engineers and machinists, and tools and methods for analyzing composite performance over aircraft lifetimes. Senator Maria Cantwell introduced the legislations that created the Centers.

The Wichita State Center will be located at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). Funding levels are the same as at Washington, and private companies will also provide matching funds. Boeing, Cessna and Raytheon currently use NIAR for composites research.