WICHITA, Kan.—For the fifth consecutive year, Wichita State University ranks first among the nation’s universities in industry-funded aerospace engineering research and development expenditures, according to newly-released National Science Foundation data.
The Higher Education Research and Development survey is compiled by the NSF’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and lists information from all reporting universities from fiscal year 2013, when Wichita State reported $25 million in industry-funded aerospace R&D.
During this time, Wichita State also received $5 million from federal agencies like the Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration and NASA, and additional funding from the State of Kansas. Overall aerospace R&D funding for 2013 totaled $39 million, putting Wichita State in the No. 4 spot nationally.
“Our commitment to increasing industry partnerships shows in these latest numbers,” said Wichita State President John Bardo, “We’re doing everything we can to realize continued growth in the next few years.”
For fiscal year 2014, Wichita State reported $39.7 million in aerospace R&D and $58.8 million in total R&D expenditures.
Wichita State’s strength in aerospace R&D is due to the efforts of the National Institute for Aviation Research. NIAR is the nation’s largest university-based aerospace R&D institute, specializing in computational design and analysis; and certification and testing for materials, full-scale components, coatings, impact, environmental and electromagnetic effects, human factors and aerodynamics. For more information about NIAR’s capabilities, visit the website at www.wichita.edu/niar.
