NASA has selected five university teams to receive grants worth up to $50 million in total to explore “transformative” system-level aviation technology concepts.The five-year research efforts under the University Leadership Initiative will support NASA’s strategic research goals for aeronautics, the space agency said Tuesday.
NASA asked universities to propose investigations that would address one of the agency’s main aviation research goals as part of ULI.
The proposals include research into wireless communication networks to optimize air traffic management for manned aircraft and drones; commercial supersonic aircraft that could change shape during flight to reduce noise from sonic booms; and an aerodynamic wing design that could help save energy, among others.
The university teams that will negotiate with NASA for potential grants include:
- University of South Carolina
- Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
- University of Tennessee
- Ohio State University
- Arizona State University
