Wichita State News: NIAR

Relationship with Beechcraft provides jobs for students

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:40:00 CST

Thanks to a strong relationship between Beechcraft and Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), dozens of WSU students are getting hands-on experience creating 3-D designs for Beechcraft airplanes.

The students are working at Beechcraft as employees of NIAR's CAD/CAM Lab. They're using CATIA 3D CAD design software and Mentor Graphics software to implement change requests for all production lines and recreate outdated two-dimensional drafting plans.

"They physically become part of the Beechcraft team," said Shawn Ehrstein, NIAR's CAD/CAM Lab director.

Much of the design work the students are completing was previously contracted to other companies. In 2010, bringing those jobs back to Wichita became a goal for Ehrstein and Scott Yeakley, Beechcraft's director of engineering operations.

"It's a winning situation for everyone," said Ehrstein. "The university provides hands-on learning opportunities, students get industry experience using industry tools while earning a paycheck, and Beechcraft gains a pipeline for new hires."

'A win-win scenario'

Most of the students are participating in the university's Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning program to satisfy curriculum in the engineering program.

Before students are hired, they must commit to working for the lab for the remainder of the semester. And, in turn, Beechcraft guarantees the students a job for as long. This has been a main contributor to the program's success.

"The NIAR/Beechcraft relationship is a win-win scenario in every sense of the meaning. We are proud to be a part of this successful business relationship," said Yeakley.

The partnership has already provided opportunities for nearly 40 students, and an additional 30 students will soon be hired for a new program this summer. Individuals to fill these positions have already been selected. Ehrstein recruits students by word of mouth and by posting flyers in and around Wallace Hall.

Students who have worked for NIAR's CAD/CAM Lab are in high demand in the aircraft industry. Since the program began in 2010, all of the lab's long-term student employees have secured jobs in the industry. Even Dassault Systems, the manufacturer of CATIA design software, has called Ehrstein looking for recruits.

"We hope we can continue to build this relationship and use it as a model for working with additional organizations," said Ehrstein.

NIAR engineer a pioneer in virtual crash testing

Tue, 28 May 2013 15:45:00 CST

Gerardo Olivares likes to crash-test dummies on a crash-test sled at the National Institute for Aviation Research in Wichita.

He cranks them back, shoots them forward. Heads, arms and legs snap forward, and their waistlines collapse, crushed in painful-looking imitations of what happens when a body folds around a seat belt at high velocity.

He uses dummies, he said with a grin, "because it's really hard to get live volunteers to ride the crash-test dummy sled."

Dummies do valuable work, as his boss, John Tomblin, said. But it is not the work that Olivares will be known for, Tomblin said.

Instead it is possible, Tomblin said, that Olivares will go down in aerospace history as the guy who showed how to do aerospace safety tests in 3D virtual models on a computer screen -- making dummies much less important than they are now and making costly physical tests less important.

Read full story

Sri Lanka native finds success in WSU aerospace engineering

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:50:00 CST

His pleasant demeanor presents an unassuming college senior at the beginning of the rest of his life, but most seniors at Wichita State didn't grow up moving in and out of a war zone.

For Tharindu "TJ" Jayaratne, it was a fact of life. As a native of Sri Lanka, he lived in danger nearly every day because of the 30-year-long civil war in the country.

In 1994 when he was 6 years old, Jayaratne and his mother left Sri Lanka during one of the most violent periods of the war. Just four years earlier, hundreds of police officers were massacred by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in one day.

"I was glad we were in the U.S. when we were growing up," said Jayaratne. "While we were here [in the U.S.], the terrorists blew up the building my mom worked in back home."

While his mom was earning her master's degree at Vanderbilt University, Jayaratne spent some of his childhood in Nashville, Tenn.

"I enjoyed both lifestyles," said Jayratne about the cultural diversity he experienced as a child.

Upon returning to Sri Lanka, 10-year-old Jayaratne could not speak Sinhalese. He learned it with ease as a fifth-grader that year and spent the rest of his adolescence in his native country.

Coming back to America

In 2008, Jayaratne returned to the United States and began attending Wichita State University. He credits his decision to a "world-class aerospace engineering program for one-sixth the cost of other such programs." Jayaratne will graduate in May 2013 with a degree in aerospace engineering and a 4.0 GPA.

Jayaratne's interest in engineering is also clear to his teachers. Larry Whitman, associate professor at the department of industrial and manufacturing engineering, emphasized Jayaratne's passion for learning as an engineer.

"His passion to learn more — engineering is not static, and he tries to learn more about the subject at hand," said Whitman. "He does a good job trying to get better."

When asked about his experience at Wichita State, Jayaratne said he most enjoyed the "truly extraordinary" hands-on curriculum the aerospace engineering program provides.

"A lot of engineers haven't built anything by the time they get out of college," said Jayaratne. "That's the good thing about WSU."

Jayaratne has also served as president of the International Student Union (ISU) and project chair for Interfest. Under Jayaratne's direction, Interfest doubled its ticket and food sales in 2012.

As president of ISU, Jayaratne helped organize airport pickups for international students with help from other student groups. The student-run program picks up more than 200 students before each fall semester.

Jayaratne now has a co-op position at the National Institute for Aviation Research, working with the certification and testing of the Learjet 85 business jet. He plans to continue his work there after graduation.

As for graduate school, Jayaratne will apply to several programs.

"I'll probably stay here, though. I like it here," he said.

Outside of work and school, Jayaratne is researching building a 1967 Mustang Fastback.

WSU research could improve prognosis for battlefield injuries

Mon, 6 May 2013 15:30:00 CST

Leg and arm injuries sustained in the battlefield are made worse when splinting devices used by military medics don't provide ideal stabilization of the injured extremity.

But a project under way by Wichita State University research engineer Kim Reuter aims to change that. Reuter is working on the development of novel materials for a fast-setting composite stabilization device.

It would initially enable shape manipulation and then harden to create a stiff, protective, custom-shaped splint. The splint would provide more stability than current devices being used today, Reuter said.

The important features of the splint include portability, ease of use and improved support and protection.

Why is this so important?

Reuter said protecting injured limbs from further vascular, neural and soft tissue damage during transport to a medical treatment center will result in less bleeding, less pain, and faster recovery.

It could also provide a potentially life-altering benefit to the injured person.

"The increased protection and support during transport could mean the difference between keeping or losing a limb," Reuter said.

Along with use in the battlefield, the improved splints could be used in daily life – added to first aid kit for emergency responders, athletic trainers, school nurses, outdoor enthusiasts, or parents.

Outperforming traditional splints

The project is paid for by a $1.39 million grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The grant was awarded in 2011 to WSU, and the work is being completed by NIAR's Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopedic Research (CIBOR).

The composite materials being researched for the splint include a resin that instantly begins to cure when it comes in contact with the reinforcement fabric; and a resin that is mixed in a closed-air environment and, when exposed to oxygen, begins to polymerize.

In preliminary trials, these composite splints outperformed the traditional splint currently being used by the military. Reuter, who is in her second year working in this project, said the next steps are to finalize the material selection, fabricate prototypes and perform testing.

"This is just one of the many ways that the composite technology of the aerospace industry can be applied to the medical industry," Reuter said. "The CIBOR team is excited to be exploring composites for orthopedic applications."

Research spotlight: NIAR's wind tunnel

Fri, 4 Jan 2013 14:32:00 CST

Three months ago, longtime Texas racer Al Lamb made history by riding his Honda motorcycle a two-way average speed of more than 262 miles per hour -- a new world record.

One of the biggest factors in Lamb's success was the ability to speed test his motorcycle in the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel at Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research.

With the help of NIAR's controlled laboratory environment, Lamb's team analyzed details such as drag reduction and rider comfort to enhance the aerodynamic performance of his bike, said John Laffen, director of the Beech Wind Tunnel.

NIAR has been wind tunnel testing motorcycles for various manufacturers for about 20 years. The Beech Wind Tunnel is one of just a handful of major facilities on university campuses in the United States. Other similar facilities only exist at Texas A&M, University of Washington, University of Maryland and MIT.

Another notable racer, Leslie Porterfield, tested at WSU's wind tunnel in 2010. Through the research done on her motorcycle, she managed to reduce drag by nearly 20 percent.

Porterfield went on to be named the fastest woman in the world on a motorcycle in 2011.

"The significance of the Beech Wind Tunnel to motorcycle race teams, aerospace companies, and everyone that uses our facility is the provision and availability of this research laboratory to provide a controlled, repeatable environment for aerodynamic research," Laffen said.

How it works

While the Beech Wind Tunnel has proven beneficial to cyclists, it was originally built in 1948 to serve the needs of local aviation research. At the time, it was the largest wind tunnel in the Midwest.

The wind tunnel is a subsonic closed loop tunnel with a test section seven feet high, 10 feet wide and 12 foot long. Air speeds in the test section can reach in excess of 200 miles per hour.

A liquid-filled heat exchanger is used to limit temperature rises in the tunnel and permit full-speed operation all day, seven days a week.

Over the years, it has been used for a variety of tests and purposes including a Junior Olympic skier, Olympic cyclists, model of Kemper Arena roof, curbside dumpster, snowmobiles, motorcycles, antennas, car toppers, early automobiles and hurricane emergency response vehicle models.

The wind tunnel has seen many changes in order to maintain quality and efficiency. The idea to build the tunnel was proposed in 1946 by Walter H. Beech, former president of Beech Aircraft Co., and Dwane L. Wallace, former president of Cessna Aircraft Co., who needed a place to do aeronautical research in Wichita.

The project, directed by Ken Razak, former director of the School of Engineering at the University of Wichita, cost $165,000 and took two years to build.

The most substantial upgrade to the tunnel was finished in January 2005. It cost $6 million and involved a modernization of the tunnel's test section, control room, fan and balance.

Most recently, the wind tunnel is being used to develop innovative new products, including unmanned aerial systems and the Learjet 85.

"The Beech Wind Tunnel is an important part of Wichita's aviation history and its future," said Tracee Friess, NIAR marketing and communication manager. "It was used not only used to develop some of the earliest Beechcraft, Cessna and Learjet aircraft models, but led to the establishment of NIAR itself."

Airbus donates equipment to WSU's NIAR

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 09:00:00 CST

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has donated aircraft structural parts and kits worth more than $800,000 to Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) for use in its research laboratories and training classes. Airbus is donating an elevator for a horizontal tail and two APU change kits.

NIAR researchers John Tomblin and Waruna Seneviratne will use the articles for composite-metal hybrid structural durability and damage tolerance research programs and advance composites hands-on training classes that include composite fabrication, repair and testing.

The advanced hands-on composite training class was first developed working with the John Papadatos, head of engineering and site director of Airbus Wichita. The class has been offered for Airbus engineers three times since 2011.

John Tomblin

"This is a prime example of the benefit of partnerships between the aviation industry and universities," said Tomblin, NIAR executive director. "We're grateful for Airbus' investment in furthering aviation research and education and look forward to the existing potential in the growing partnership between Airbus and NIAR."
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran has been a long-time supporter of NIAR and helped foster the partnership between the two entities.

"Airbus is a great community partner and this investment demonstrates their significant commitment to Wichita and to Kansas," said Moran. "This generous contribution will provide students at NIAR with invaluable aviation research tools, helping to establish Wichita as a place for aviation companies and their leaders."

"Airbus is pleased to support Wichita State University and education of the next generation of leaders in this industry," said Barry Eccleston, president and CEO of Airbus Americas. "We already have a good partnership with WSU and are pleased they can use our donation for teaching and research."

DHL provided shipping services from Airbus to NIAR at cost.

Faculty/staff news update: November 2012

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:37:00 CST

Academe welcomes news from WSU faculty and staff about research, teaching and service activities. This column recognizes grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and deaths of our current and former colleagues.

Alla Aranovskaya, Leonid Shukaev, Boris Vaynor and Evgeny Zvonniko, members of the St. Petersburg String Quartet in residence at WSU; the student Suprima Chamber Orchestra; Andrea Banke, Erika Binsley, Sarunas Jankauskas, Scott Oakes and Frances Shelly, members of the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet, and Julie Bees, Lynne Davis and Mark Foley performed by invitation in November at the 100th anniversary celebration of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia.

Amy DeVault, assistant professor, Elliott School of Communication, led a daylong workshop on Team Storytelling for 56 high school students from around the country at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Antonio in November. The convention, put on by the National Scholastic Press Association and Journalism Education Association, was attended by more than 5,000 high school journalism students and teachers.

Eric Freeman, assistant professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, presented "Falsification, Annual Targets, and Errant Leadership: What Really Happened in Atlanta" at the American Educational Studies Association conference held Nov. 1-4 in Seattle.

Dan Krutka, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, presented "Student Civil Liberties: Is Your School Violating Student Constitutional Rights?" and co-presented "Bayard Rustin and the Social Studies Curriculum: Thoughts about Citizenship in a Complex World" at the Kansas Council for the Social Studies in Topeka.

Gayla Lohfink, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, was co-author of "Developing cultural competence through problem posing and multicultural literature" in Advocate.

Joseph Mau, professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, and M.E. Yeager, postdoctoral fellow, were awarded the Kansas Educational Research Scholars Program award from the Kansas Board of Regents. The study is titled, "Factors influencing Kansas college students' choice of a STEM major and factors influencing their success in completing a STEM degree."

Jacquelyn McClendon, senior clinical educator, nursing, and Kelly Anderson, assistant professor and senior clinic coordinator, dental hygiene, received an Interprofessional National Oral Health Agenda Curricular Innovation Award, Oral Health Nursing Education Program and Practice Grant in August for $2,000.

Nancy McKeller, associate professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, presented "Legal Issues that Impact School Psychological Practice" at the Kansas Association of School Psychologists annual conference in Lawrence this fall.

Rick Pappas, physical education educator, human performance studies, received the highest award made by the Kansas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (KAHPERD). The Wayne Osness award, which recognizes leadership and significant contributions, was presented to Pappas in November at the annual KAHPERD conference held in Lawrence.

Susan Parsons, assistant professor, nursing, published Collaborative Oral Health Care for Caregivers in an Assisted-Living Facility in the Journal of Nursing Education & Practice, Vol. 3, No. 3.

Susan Parsons, C. Lee and M. Trumpp, nursing, presented "Evidence-Based Practice: Ventilator Bundle to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia" to the Kansas State Nurses Association, Exhibit Session.

Jean Patterson, professor and chair, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, presented "High School 21st Century Learning Initiatives as a Manifestation of Neoliberalism" at the American Educational Studies Association conference.

Jennifer Rodgers, clinical educator, nursing, gave a one-hour presentation, "Pulmonary Care Continuum: Hospital to Community," to the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative 4th Annual Summit on Quality, with Bobbie Starks, Darla Wilson and Amanda Hullet.

Donna Sayman, assistant professor, and Dan Krutka, both curriculum and instruction, co-presented "A Freirean Analysis of Identity for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome," also at the Kansas Council for the Social Studies conference in Topeka.

Elaine Steinke, professor, nursing, has been inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing for her significant contributions to the profession of nursing and health care in general. Steinke, who attended the induction ceremony in October in Washington, D.C., is internationally renowned for bringing the science of sexuality and sexual counseling of cardiac patients to the forefront of cardiac practice.

Elaine Steinke presented "Psychology and sexual function: What do we know?" to the European Society of Cardiology 2012 Congress, Munich, Germany, in August.

Elaine Steinke, Victoria Mosack, associate professor, nursing, and Twyla J. Hill, professor, sociology, gave a poster presentation, "Sexual concerns of cardiac patients: A psychometric analysis," to the European Society of Cardiology, in Munich, Germany, in August.

John Tomblin

John Tomblin, executive director of WSU's National Institute for Aviation Research, has been named a Newsmaker for 2012 by the Wichita Business Journal. He and other 2012 Newsmakers will be recognized at a Jan. 29 event at Newman University.

Susan Unruh, assistant professor, counseling, educational leadership, and educational and school psychology, was the WSU representative on a panel, "School Psychology Practice: Here I Come," at the Kansas Association of School Psychologists annual conference in Lawrence.

IN MEMORIAM

D. Ray Cook, 69, former team physician for Wichita State and longtime community doctor, died Nov. 7. Services have been held. He is preceded in death by his parents, Leon and Marie Cook. He is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughter, Candi (Mark) Brown of Spring Hill, Kan.; son, Chad (Jill) Cook of Overland Park, Kan.; brother, Gene (Linda) Cook of Phoenix City, Ala.; grandchildren, Ben, Will, Graham and Betsy Brown, and Johnny Ray, Spencer, Freddie and Lucy Cook. The following memorial has been established: D. Ray Cook, M.D. Memorial Fund, c/o Christian Network Foundation, 17001 Prairie Star Pkwy, Suite 200, Lenexa, KS 66220.

Richard Allen Moellenberndt, 71, former professor of accounting, died Nov. 24 in Topeka. Services have been held. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; daughter, Sarah Moellenberndt; and sister, Eleanor Shaffer.

Linda Tedder, 60, senior research grants administrator in the Office of Research Administration, died Nov. 24 in Wichita. Services have been held. She is preceded in death by her parents, Francis D. and Evelyn J. (Voran) Bornowsky. She is survived her son, Mike Tedder; grandchild, Lexi Tedder; great-grandchild, Jenna St. Martin; sisters, Paula Sullivan, Gail Roland, Mary Daugherty, Jean Kemp and Rita Winfrey; brothers, Ralph and Larry Bornowsky; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Kaylyn Turner, 70, former reference librarian, died Nov. 8. Services have been held. She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert Briggs and Ara Cron. Survivors are husband, Stanley; son, Joshua David (Tracy) Turner, Shawnee Mission; and grandchildren, Emily, Molly and Jack Turner. Memorials to Midland Baptist Church, 4200 N. Church Circle, Wichita, KS 67205.

NIAR lab at WSU has a new leader

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:36:00 CST

The Advanced Joining and Processing Lab of Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has been reorganized and transferred to WSU's College of Engineering.

The lab is now under the leadership of Zulma Toro-Ramos, dean of the College of Engineering.

The lab was reorganized due to a shift in its overall mission and industry demand.

Read the full story.

CIBOR restructuring, moving to NIAR

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:00:00 CST

The Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopaedic Research, founded four years ago as a joint venture of Wichita State University and Via Christi Health, is being restructured and is moving to the National Institute for Aviation Research on the university campus.

David McDonald

CIBOR will remain a joint venture of Wichita State and Via Christi Health, but will be managed by NIAR. CIBOR will be overseen by NIAR Executive Director John Tomblin and WSU Associate Provost David McDonald. The scientific staff will be retained and continue to work on current research projects.

CIBOR has been successful in several areas of orthopaedic device development, with several patent submissions in the area of bone void fillers, spine restoration devices and novel surgical instruments. CIBOR has attracted and completed several contracts for major orthopaedic manufacturers, and has made discoveries that will influence a range of orthopaedic devices, from hip and knee implant design to MRI safety.

Notably, CIBOR received funding from the U.S. Department of Defense and is developing a battlefield stabilization device for the military.

"The science of CIBOR is actually ahead of schedule, while funding has been slower in developing," said Paul Wooley, CIBOR's chief scientific officer, noting that CIBOR has caught the attention of the major trade organizations in the orthopaedic world, MDM and OMTECH.

Unanimously approved

The move, which was unanimously approved by the CIBOR Board of Directors, will reduce CIBOR's overhead costs and allow the organization to focus on its mission to use composite materials that have been developed for the aircraft and aerospace industries in order to develop an active medical device industry for the state of Kansas.

"We're looking at this as a step in the right direction to allow us to focus on the science of materials in orthopaedic research," said McDonald. "We are committed to helping CIBOR grow in the future."

CIBOR will continue to be a joint venture between NIAR/WSU and Via Christi Health, and will take the opportunity to adapt the outlines of its original proposal. Both McDonald and Mike Wegner, chairman of the CIBOR board, expressed continued support for the activities of CIBOR.

"We appreciate Rich Sullivan's many contributions during his tenure as CIBOR's chief executive officer and his continued support as we take steps to ensure CIBOR's long-term success," said Wegner, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Via Christi Hospitals, Wichita.

Tomblin also expressed his support for the restructuring, noting that NIAR/WSU and Via Christi Health have always partnered with CIBOR, which has been a separate entity since 2009.

Over the next few months, CIBOR will move from its uncompleted headquarters and the engineering staff will relocate to offices within NIAR. The biology and animal facilities of CIBOR will remain within the WSU Department of Biology and the Orthopaedic Research Institute at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis.

In this new structure, CIBOR will continue to work with the state of Kansas and seek funding from multiple sources to invest in its transformational technology, including from the Kansas Bioscience Authority for possible support of individual projects.

"We are supportive of CIBOR and would like to see its technology commercialized, bringing jobs to Kansas and new options for patients," said Tom Krol, director of commercialization for the Kansas Bioscience Authority and a CIBOR board member.

NIAR finalizes plans to expand into former Kansas Coliseum

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:50:00 CST

Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research will be testing aircraft components in the former Britt Brown Arena at the Kansas Coliseum by year end.

Earlier this week, WSU officials and developer Johnny Stevens signed a 10-year lease agreement that will allow NIAR to remodel the arena, which formerly seated 10,000 spectators for events including concerts, professional wrestling, college basketball and professional hockey. The lease includes three five-year options.

Keith Pickus

"Securing the Britt Brown Arena for NIAR is a tremendous opportunity for Wichita State and our community," said interim provost and professor Keith Pickus. "Not only will NIAR be able to enhance its research and testing capacities, but WSU's presence in the former Coliseum ensures the continued viability of an important community investment."

The newly remodeled facility will house NIAR's Aircraft Structural Testing and Evaluation Center, most of which is located at Hawker Beechcraft's Plant 1. The move will allow the rapidly growing laboratories the space to expand and take on more work.

When remodeling work is complete, the former arena will include approximately 100,000 square feet of laboratory space and 30,000 square feet of office space on two levels with client observation and work areas and a 30-by-70 foot hangar door on the south end.

"NIAR anticipates full occupancy by the year end, with limited occupancy prior to that," said NIAR executive director John Tomblin. "We will more than double the amount of current full-scale structural testing space that exists now and greatly expand the ability to test larger aircraft."

The facility has a clearance height of 48 feet and clear span of more than 240 feet. This will allow testing and research on aircraft including unmanned aerial vehicles, business jets, commercial aircraft and military aircraft.

NIAR's Full-Scale Structural Test Lab tests full-size aircraft parts such as fuselage sections, cockpits, wings and stabilizers before they go into production to ensure they will be able to withstand the forces they will experience during flight. This type of testing also helps to determine the optimum lifespan of aircraft.

This testing will occur on the former arena floor, where Garth Brooks once sold out shows. Offices for the Full-Scale Structural Test Lab will be located in areas that once housed concessions and walkways for spectators.

The former arena will also house additional laboratories that are located at Hawker Beechcraft (HBC), including the Aging Aircraft Lab and the Metrology Lab. NIAR's Environmental Test Labs are also located at HBC, but there are no plans to relocate those facilities at this time.

The Aging Aircraft Lab will share some of the arena floor space and will also occupy the former Thunder Hockey dressing rooms with nondestructive testing and paint removal equipment. Its offices will exist on the second floor in areas that formerly housed concessions, walkways and second-tier seating.

The Aging Aircraft Lab performs structural teardown, failure analysis and nondestructive inspection, including ultrasonic inspection of retired military and commercial aircraft. Programs on the lab's schedule include continuing with the KC-135 tanker analysis program and additional programs including the C-130, Boeing 707, Boeing E-6 and programs for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Metrology Lab will occupy space on the first floor where storage and workshop space currently exists. This lab is responsible for ensuring that the laboratory equipment used at NIAR is reliable and accurate. The lab also performs this type of work for outside clients to calibrate equipment such as power supplies, timing devices, thermometers, ovens, environmental chambers, scales, accelerometers, PSI gauges and altimeters.

A portion of NIAR's Composite and Advanced Materials Lab will also be housed at the former arena. It will perform testing similar to that of the Full-Scale Structural Test Lab, but on a smaller scale.

Because of ITAR-restricted and proprietary client testing, the facility will be restricted to clients and scheduled guests only. The facility parking areas will also be secured and separate from those of the Kansas Pavilions. The pavilions will not lose parking spaces as a result of the agreement. When the remodel is complete, the public will be invited to an open house to see the transformation.

About NIAR
The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University supports the aviation industry by providing research, development, testing and certification services to manufacturers, government agencies and education entities. NIAR laboratories include: Advanced Coatings, Advanced Joining & Processing, Aging Aircraft, CAD/CAM, Composites & Advanced Materials, Computational Mechanics, Crash Dynamics, Environmental Test, Full-Scale Structural Test, Mechanical Test, Metrology, Nondestructive Test, Research Machine Shop, Virtual Reality and the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel. NIAR operates on a nonprofit budget that has steadily increased to more than $49 million in fiscal year 2011. NIAR is the largest university aviation R&D institution in the United States. With its location in Wichita, Kan., the Air Capital of the World, NIAR is able to integrate business, government and university entities in cooperative efforts to advance aviation technology. NIAR operates more than 250,000 square feet of laboratory and office space and employs 350. Clients include Boeing, Bombardier Learjet, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Spirit AeroSystems.

NIAR labs undergo reorganization

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:53:00 CST

The National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University continues to increase its yearly research funding, announcing a total of $49.4 million in fiscal year 2011.

This is an increase of $5 million over 2010.

However, the culmination of several large federal programs and a shift in the research and testing needs of the aviation industry has led to several organizational changes within NIAR.

For more information, go to http://tinyurl.com/6fb3h3k.

WSU faculty members named in Top 150 scientists list

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:52:00 CST

Seven Wichita State University faculty members have been recognized as some of the state's top 150 scientists by Ad Astra Kansas, an information resource focusing on high-tech and space research in Kansas.

They are:

Dwight Burford
Alex Chaparro
Mark Schneegurt
Nickolas Solomey
John Tomblin
Zulma Toro-Ramos
Paul H. Wooley

The selection comes through the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative, which is spotlighting Kansas researchers, inventors and engineers from the past to the present who have advanced their field.

The list will be updated throughout the year.

For the full list, go to http://tinyurl.com/3hpe529.

NIAR receives $1.4 million grant for CIBOR project

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:45:00 CST

Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund a project involving the National Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopaedic Research (CIBOR).

CIBOR has received previous start-up funding grants from the Kansas Bioscience Authority and the Knight Foundation, and is working on projects for external clients, but this is the organization's first grant for a government project.

The funded CIBOR project is focused on the development of a fast-setting composite stabilization device for battlefield use.

For the complete story, go to http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1225.

WSU ranks No. 2 in nation in aeronautical R&D expenditures

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:00:00 CST

Wichita State University has risen to second among the nation's universities in aeronautical research and development expenditures, according to the latest information from the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.

In fiscal year 2009, Wichita State had $50 million in aeronautical R&D expenditures, compared to $32.9 million in 2008.

Wichita State was fourth in 2008 and third in 2007.

This $17 million increase in expenditures puts Wichita State just more than $1 million behind the top institution, Utah State University, which reported $51.6 million and operates the Space Dynamics Laboratory.

Wichita State's numbers reflect the efforts of the National Institute for Aviation Research's (NIAR) mission to support the local aviation industry by providing research, development, testing and certification.

Read more at http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1186.

Wichita State/K-State partnership nets royalty-bearing license

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:35:00 CST

An invention by Dwight Burford, director of the Advanced Joining and Processing Laboratory at Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research, has resulted in the first royalty-bearing license for WSU.

An exclusive worldwide license was signed with Manufacturing Technology Inc. (MTI) for a device called the end effector in which royalties are received by WSU based on the technology's success in the marketplace.

David McDonald

"This is the first time that we have commercially licensed a technology in WSU's patent portfolio," said David McDonald, associate provost for research at Wichita State. "Half of the net revenue from the license directly benefits the researcher. The other half is used by the university to provide grants to help other researchers with their projects."

The end effector is specially designed using friction stir welding (FSW) principles and can be used with robots, machining centers and purpose-built FSW equipment to produce lap joints in a single, automated procedure.

Friction stir welding offers numerous benefits in joining metals and thermoplastics, including minimizing or eliminating defects typically encountered in fusion welding. It has the potential to benefit any industry that has a need to join metal on metal, such as aviation and automotive.

"It's a greener technology," said McDonald. "It's a game changer. It's so much better than what's currently available."

Helping Wichita State to commercialize and license the invention was Kansas State University's National Institute of Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC).

"Collaboration among the state's universities is critical to the success of higher education in Kansas," said Kirk Schulz, K-State president. "By working together, Kansas colleges and universities can make the most of what resources we have. As K-State strives to become a top 50 public research university, we look forward to sharing our strengths with our neighbors in higher education."

Don Beggs

Wichita State President Don Beggs said, "This is an example of how Regents institutions can work together to make valuable use of the resources we have."

"This has been a great deal that helped both K-State and WSU," said Kent Glasscock, president of NISTAC. "They have been able to take advantage of the experience we have in getting university research into the global marketplace where technology's potential to help people and companies can be fully realized."

McDonald acknowledges that working with K-State's NISTAC enables Wichita State to more effectively commercialize intellectual property.

"K-State's NISTAC has incentive and expertise to push this out into the marketplace and for our faculty researcher's benefit," said McDonald. "It gives us a capability that we don't have in place on campus. We're taking our first baby steps."

MTI is headquartered in South Bend, Ind., and is a fourth-generation, multinational company specializing in solid state or friction welding solutions. In addition to Friction Stir Welding, MTI offers solutions in linear, rotation friction and resistance welding processes.

MTI's installed base includes launch systems, aerospace, transportation, automotive, petrochemical, electronics with custom engineered machines. Solutions include various friction machine configurations, design resources, research and development, and contract welding services based on customer needs. MTI's professional team expands conventional manufacturing processes in metals joining, automation and services to satisfy the customer's joining challenges.

If you have questions, wish to discuss your manufacturing challenges or explore opportunities provided by FSW, visit the company website www.mtiwelding.com or contact Bill Johnson, FSW sales manager, at (574) 233-9490, ext. 210 or e-mail Johnson at johnson.bill@mtiwelding.com.