About Us
Our Mission:
To conduct research, transfer technology and enhance education for the purpose of advancing the nation’s aviation industry, and to assist non-aviation industries that may benefit from aviation-related technologies.
Since its inception in 1985, National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University has made a name for itself as the most capable university-based aviation research center in the United States, providing research, design, testing and certification to the aviation manufacturing industry, government agencies, educational entities and other clients that can benefit from our services.
With 135,000 square feet of research and office space, the institute is home to more than a dozen labs. NIAR laboratories include: Advanced Coatings, Advanced Joining & Processing, Aging Aircraft, CAD/CAM, Composites & Advanced Materials, Computational Mechanics, Crash Dynamics, Environmental Test, Full-Scale Structural Test, Mechanical Test, Metrology, Nondestructive Test, Research Machine Shop, Virtual Reality and the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel. |
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As a department of Wichita State University, NIAR operates on a non-profit budget that has steadily increased to more than $49 million in fiscal year 2011. As a unit within the administrative structure of the university, NIAR reports to the Office of Academic Affairs and Research through the associate provost. This gives us an excellent academic connection from which to draw the most outstanding aviation researchers.
NIAR is the largest university aviation R&D institution in the U.S. And with its location in Wichita, KS, the “Air Capital of the World,” NIAR is able to integrate business, government and university entities in cooperative efforts to advance aviation technology.
NIAR is also proud to hold two FAA Center of Excellence designations. NIAR is a Center of Excellence for General Aviation Research (CGAR) and is the headquarters for the Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (CECAM).Other government organizations have also designated NIAR as a research hub. NASA sponsors the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), located within NIAR, and the National Science Foundation has named WSU/NIAR as a Center for Friction Stir Processing (CFSP).
NIAR operates more than 250,000 square feet of laboratory and office space and employs 350. Our clients include Boeing, Bombardier Learjet, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Spirit Aerosystems.
www.niar.wichita.edu
 Visit our profile at on the National Testing Directory.
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