1928
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Aerospace
Engineering Professor Alexander Petroff and his students,
Dwayne L. Wallace, Jerry Gerteis and Tom Stalter, constructed
the first wind tunnel at the University of Wichita.
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1948
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The
7 x 10 ft. Walter H. Beech Memorial Wind Tunnel was
built by the Wichita State University College of Engineering under the supervision
of Ken Razak.
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1985
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The
Institute for Aviation Research was established at
Wichita State University. Labs included Aerodynamics,
Composites, Crash Dynamics, Human Factors, Aircraft
Icing, Structures, Propulsion, CAD/CAM and the Research
Machine Shop.
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1987
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NIAR
received federal funds to expand research support to
the aviation industry.
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1988
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The
Institute was designated as a Kansas Technology Enterprise
Corporation Center of Excellence.
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1989
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Construction
of the 74,000 square foot research facility housing
the Institute was completed and was dedicated on April
30 the following year.
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1990
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The
Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center was established
as a part of the Institute.
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1993
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The
Computational Mechanics Laboratory was established.
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1995
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NIAR
joins the NASA Advanced General Aviation Transport
Experiments (AGATE) program.
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1996
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The
Institute formally established the Aircraft Design and Manufacturing
Research Center (ADMRC).
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1997
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NIAR
was designated an FAA Airworthiness Assurance Center
of Excellence (AACE).
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1998
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The
Mechatronics Laboratory was established.
The
Institute formally established the Manufacturing Innovation
and Development Initiative (MIND) in Aviation.
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1999
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NIAR
initiated a statewide partnership to launch the Kansas
Small Aircraft Transportation System (KSATS) program
supported by NASA.
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2000
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The Landing Gear Drop Tower Laboratory was created.
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2001
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FAA
awarded NIAR the Excellence in Aviation institutional award.
NIAR
was designated as a core member of the FAA Center for General
Aviation Research (CGAR).
The
Virtual Reality Center and the Visual Technology Laboratory were established.
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2002
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The Aging Aircraft Laboratory and the Ergonomics Laboratory were established.
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2003
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The Fatigue and Fracture Laboratory was established.
The Walter H. Beech Memorial Wind Tunnel underwent a $6 million upgrade.
FAA
designated NIAR as the lead institution for the Center of
Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (CECAM).
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2004
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NIAR
created the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance
(NCAMP).
The
Crash Dynamics Laboratory underwent modernization, includes
a $3 million acceleration sled.
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2005
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NIAR
gains the full-scale structural testing facility at Raytheon Aircraft Co. It is established as the Aircraft Structural Testing and Evaluation Center (ASTEC).
The
Advanced Joining & Processing Laboratory was established.
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