On March 9, 2022, the B-1 System Program Office (SPO), Tinker AFB, OK awarded a six-year, $100 million follow-on contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to continue the B-1’s Digital Engineering (DE) transformation. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) helped form the strategic partnership and created a flexible contract structure, which allows NIAR and the B-1 SPO to adapt requirements real-time to meet critical warfighter needs.
Feb. 25, 2022 — Wichita State’s Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College is proud to announce nine recipients of the Koch Scholars Program for the fall 2022 semester. These eight recipients will each be awarded $30,000 over the next four years.
Jan. 20, 2022 — Wichita State University and Kansas Modification Center have reached another significant milestone to advance the passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversion of the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft at WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research WERX
Oct. 15, 2021 – Today, Spirit AeroSystems Inc. held a grand opening event and ribbon cutting ceremony for its National Defense Prototype Center (NDPC), a joint project with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). This new research center will significantly expand Spirit’s capabilities and production efficiencies in the defense and space market.
Sept. 8, 2021 — WERX at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has received its first Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft. As part of its rapidly growing Maintenance Repair and Overhaul program, WSU-NIAR WERX, in conjunction with Kansas Modification Center, will convert the passenger aircraft into a freighter that will be transferred to an external client to meet the growing needs of the e-commerce and express cargo market.
Aug. 18, 2021 — The Department of Defense (DoD) has designated South Kansas as a Defense Manufacturing Community (DCM), making the region eligible for $5 million through the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation’s Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program. The initiative is led by Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR).
June 30, 2021 -- The U.S. Air Force is launching a new program with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to make a digital replica of the F-16 Fighting Falcon in an effort to improve the sustainment and modernization of F-16s operating around the world.
June 7, 2021 — The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center B-1 Division is sponsoring a research project with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research to study the effects of flight operations on aircraft structures.
May 14, 2021 — Anisia Brumley, a native Wichitan, is a Wichita Northeast Magnet High School alumna. She chose to attend Wichita State because as a first-generation student, Wichita State provided her with a sense of comfort and familiarity.
April 1, 2021 - In the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of universities offering a Ph.D. in engineering, the College of Engineering at Wichita State University is again ranked in the top 100 engineering graduate programs, the only institution from the state of Kansas to make it in the top 100. Wichita State ranks No. 77 on the list, up from No. 94 a year ago.
March 26, 2021 — Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) announces the addition of two new technologies to its Automated Technologies Laboratory for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS): a fully integrated thermoplastic welding system and a prepreg tape slitting and tow-rewinding machine.
March 10, 2021 — Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research has received delivery of two Boeing 737 aircraft for modification. The aircraft are part of a year-long project with Virginia-based Dynamic Aviation to modify three 737 aircraft for a special-mission program.
Feb. 18, 2021 -- The National Science Foundation has released its latest comparison of research and development expenditures among the nation’s universities, and Wichita State University has risen in all categories, increasing expenditures by $47 million.
Jan. 22, 2021 — 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.
