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WSU's NIAR team celebrates milestone in 777 conversion project

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

Madeline Shonka (left) created an app called CoVstat to help patients with chronic illnesses. Devon Creasman (right) created ICT Box which brings local artisan goods to your doorstep.

November 29, 2021 – Wichita State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship (CEI) has granted two students the Women for Women's Innovation Award — one who wants to use an app to help those with chronic illnesses, the other who wants to support local businesses by creating Wichita artisan gift boxes.

Wichita State students pose with Alyssa in her Elsa costume made as part of the Walkin' & Rollin' program.

Oct. 29, 2021 – Most children love trying on costumes this time of year, but for children with special needs, finding the right costume can be a challenge.

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).

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.

Woolsey Hall

Sept. 13, 2021 - Student feedback helped guide the design of Frank and Kay Woolsey Hall. They asked for collaboration, and they asked for caffeine. Woolsey Hall, the new home for the W. Frank Barton School of Business, is 30 to 40 percent finished and expected to be complete in late spring 2022 and ready for summer 2022 classes.

The Boeing 777 aircraft rests at NIAR facilities.

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.

The ATLAS lab at NIAR

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).

Amanda Phanivong

Aug. 13. 2021 – Amanda Phanivong, a Wichita State University junior studying integrated marketing communication, recently began a fellowship with the Kansas-based Storytime Village Inc. While working there with their marketing and special events cohort, Phanivong has fully embraced her time with the Storytime team.

Innovation Campus

Aug. 11, 2021 - People are returning to the Wichita State University campus as summer continues and the fall semester approaches. If you’re a newcomer – or feel like it’s been a while – you’ll notice construction and new businesses on campus.

A rendering of the future Promise Bridge

Aug. 2, 2021 — The marquee exterior fixture of the W. Frank Barton School of Business’ new home, Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall, has been officially named the Promise Bridge. The 300-foot-long pedestrian bridge will span a water feature south of the building.

Gianluca Gabriele

July 6, 2021 - Gianluca Gabriele, 17, is an incoming freshman who plans to major in biomedical engineering at Wichita State University. Rowing is his passion, and he will spend the summer under consideration for both the 2024 summer Paralympic and Olympic training teams for the United States. When he returns to Wichita State later this summer, he will join the Shockers crew team.

F16

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.

Rafael Leite and Felipe Lima de Oliveira

June 22, 2021 — When the Make48 invention and maker challenge comes to Wichita State University on June 24, two of the eight Wichita teams are comprised entirely of Wichita State University students.

NIAR

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.

Wichita State University engineering students present Ford Hall with a bicycle they modified to meet his needs.

June 7, 2021 — Five-year-old Ford Hall has had to overcome more in his short life than most do in a lifetime. That’s because immediately after he was born, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The doctors informed his mother he would probably never be able to walk. “It was that conversation with that doctor that really lit a fire in us,” said Cori Hall, Ford’s mother.