WSU News - All Stories

Nov. 10, 2021 -- Building on a 20-year history of collaboration, Lockheed Martin recently named Wichita State University and WSU Tech as a tier one collegiate partner institution, emphasizing collaboration with the institution as an Aeronautics Sector Emerging School to bolster the pipeline for future Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) careers.

Nov. 8, 2021 -- In just four years since its inception, the Teacher Apprentice Program at Wichita State University’s College of Applied Studies has had a big impact on school districts and communities across Kansas.

Nov. 4, 2021 - A $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce will help Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) purchase tools and supplies to support Flight Test Research Center and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility at NIAR WERX.

Nov. 1, 2021 - Helped by six grants from Kansas Leadership Center, Wichita State University’s HEALTH Student Association is working to end the pandemic and support students with information and resources to keep them healthy. HEALTH distributed more than 6,000 free and reusable masks, some with “Shockers United” branding, some plain black and sequined masks for the inauguration of president Rick Muma. It assembled gift boxes for quarantining students with information on COVID-19 vaccines and testing and gifts such as Wichita State water bottles, stickers and lanyards.

Oct. 20, 2021 — While Lauryn McIntyre, who is majoring in marketing with a minor in personal selling, is growing out of her comfort zone in her internship, she isn’t doing it without support. That is the key feature to the applied learning model used by Shocker Career Accelerator to match Wichita State students with industry partners in a way that invests time in building a relationship that helps both parties.

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.

Oct. 7, 2021 — The Federal Aviation Administration recently awarded $7.3 million to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research for advanced materials research, providing significant funding for additive and other advanced manufacturing research programs, ranging from qualification and characterization to specialized programs that address specific technical challenges.

Oct, 1, 2021 - The 777 conversion program will provide unique applied learning opportunities for WSU engineering and WSU Tech students. NIAR’s ability to provide applied learning experience for students will expand with a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for the purchase and installation of equipment for the institute’s Flight Test Research Center and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility on South Oliver near Spirit AeroSystems.

Sept. 30, 2021 -- Enrollment for fall 2021 at Wichita State University and WSU Tech is showing strong growth despite a decline in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of thousands of local jobs.

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).

July 9, 2021 - John Wise, Wichita State University assistant director of track and field, documents his love of history, travel and frozen soft drinks in “Travel With a Wiseguy” on YouTube. He posts a video weekly, many from trips around Kansas to visit small towns, ghost towns and places such as Old Oxford Mill and Little Jerusalem.

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 21, 2021 — A widely acclaimed program for aircraft inspection, maintenance and airworthiness research is landing at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) after a 30-year history at Sandia National Laboratories.

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.