CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

The Federal Aviation Administration has created several centers of excellence as a way to recognize universities and research

facilities, such as NIAR, for their contributions to the industry. These centers create a formal structure for sharing ideas among government, industry and academia. In addition to holding three FAA Center of Excellence designations, NIAR has been designated as a NASA National Center for Advanced Material Performance and a National Science Foundation Center for Friction Stir Processing.

NIAR’s centers promote the safety, research, manufacturing and design elements of today’s aviation industry. They strengthen airworthiness assurance in the short and long term. They make the concerns of the general aviation industry their own. And they make dreams of composite-made airplanes reality. This happens not only through NIAR’s own research, but through the exchange of knowledge with researchers in other centers.

The advancements made in these centers put NIAR in the top 10 U.S. universities specializing in aeronautical research and development.