Purdue News

January 27, 2004

FAA center involving Purdue to be dedicated in Washington

Federal officials on Wednesday (1/28) will dedicate an FAA-NASA center aimed at reducing airport noise and pollution.

The dedication will be at 10 a.m. in Washington, D.C., at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2325.

Eight universities, including Purdue, are members of the Center of Excellence for Aviation Noise and Aircraft Emissions Mitigation.

Purdue officials attending the dedication will be Robert J. Bernhard, director of Purdue's Herrick Laboratories; Dennis R. Depew, dean of the School of Technology; Peter Dunn, interim associate vice provost for research; and Edgar Martinez, assistant dean for research in engineering.

Purdue was chosen last year by the Federal Aviation Administration to take part in the national effort to reduce noise pollution and improve air quality at U.S. airports through the center, which will conduct basic research and develop prototypes.

The partnership will be led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other university members are Boise State University, Florida International University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue, Stanford University, the University of Central Florida and University of Missouri-Rolla.

The Purdue team will include researchers from four areas: School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Technology, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the School of Health Sciences, said Bernhard, a professor of mechanical engineering. He said Purdue's involvement in the center would not have been possible without the efforts of Jay Gore, Purdue's associate dean of engineering for research and entrepreneurship and the Vincent P. Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The center's research and development efforts will concentrate on a broad spectrum of noise and emissions mitigation issues, including socioeconomic effects, noise abatement flight procedures, compatible land-use management, airport operational controls, and atmospheric and health effects.

Eighteen industrial and government partners, primarily specializing in aviation, belong to the new center.

Congress authorized Air Transportation Centers of Excellence under the Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering and Development Authorization Act of 1990. The FAA has established five other centers of excellence, focusing on computational modeling of aircraft structures, airport pavement technology, operations research, airworthiness assurance and general aviation. More information about the FAA Centers of Excellence program is available online.

CONTACTS: Bernhard, (765) 494-2141, (765) 426-5029 (cell), bernhard@ecn.purdue.edu; Gore, (765) 494-1452, gore@ecn.purdue.edu

Related Web sites:

Institute for Safe, Quiet and Durable Highways: http://widget.ecn.purdue.edu/~sqdh/