The mission of the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University is to provide research, transfer technology and enhance education for the purpose of advancing the nation’s aviation industries that may benefit from aviation-related technologies.

Since its inception in 1985, NIAR 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, including Advanced Joining and Processing, Aging Aircraft, CAD/CAM, Composites and Advanced Materials, Crash Dynamics, Environmental Test, Full-Scale Structural Test, Human Factors, Mechanical Test, Virtual Reality and the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel. Other labs offer support in Calibration and Quality, Computational Mechanics, Information Technology, Visual Technology and Research Machine services to keep our primary labs running smoothly.

Being a part of Wichita State University gives NIAR a distinct advantage. 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 has another advantage over the competition: location, location, location. We are situated in Wichita, Kansas, a city recognized as the "Air Capital of the World." From this position, NIAR integrates university, government and business entities in cooperative efforts to advance technologies for the aviation industry.

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 aCenter for Friction Stir Processing (CFSP).NIAR is also supported by the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) as a Center of Excellence.