UA-Huntsville gets engineering research support

EADS’ backing of advanced aerospace research at U.S. universities and colleges has been further expanded with $200,000 in funding to support technological development for EADS North America’s Fairchild Controls Corporation subsidiary.

The new contributions of $100,000 each for the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) and Georgia Institute of Technology cover 12-month research activities, with options for additional year-long grants of the same amount based on study work achievements.

Fairchild Controls is investing its own resources – matching these cash contributions nearly dollar-for-dollar in technical and administrative support from the company.

The company’s grant for UAH supports evaluations for the next generation of high-power airborne electronics, while the Georgia Institute of Technology’s activity focuses on prognostics and diagnostics for environmental control units used on aircraft and military ground vehicles.

“This advanced aerospace research is a win-win situation for everyone – it provides highly valuable contacts between our engineers and universities, helps our company advance its own capabilities, and prepares the students of today to become industry managers of the future,” explained Fairchild Controls president Scott Selle. “We also build relationships that enable us to recruit new employees from two of this country’s best engineering schools.”

Studies at UAH are evaluating technical solutions in the emerging field of high-power electronics as the industry increasingly moves toward electronic-based power sources aboard aircraft.

The University of Alabama at Huntsville was chosen for the work based on the university’s advanced research capabilities, according to company executives.

Reza Adhami, chair of UAH’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, said he appreciates the confidence that EADS and Fairchild Controls has placed in UAH’s engineering and research capabilities.

“UAH has a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise in information technology, particularly with applications to the aerospace and aviation industries,” he said. “Our experience in this field is proving to be beneficial to the many partnerships that we have formed over the years. We hope that our research will find some use for our newest partners — EADS and Fairchild Controls — and we look forward to providing them with continued research as our partnership grows.”

In addition, the city of Mobile, Ala., is home to EADS CASA North America’s expanding aircraft support and delivery center, and is the site of Airbus’ newest U.S. engineering facility. In addition, Mobile has been chosen as the industrial location for the KC-30 Tanker, which is being proposed to the U.S. Air Force by Northrop Grumman with EADS North America as its principal subcontractor.