June 13, 2005                                      C05-01

Welcome to the Advanced Materials Technology E-Bulletin!

The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) is excited to announce the start of the Advanced Materials Technology Bulletin at the Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials.

The e-bulletin will be produced monthly and will feature a new CECAM project each month. These will be projects not only ongoing at NIAR, but also at the center's other core members, which include Northwestern University, Purdue University, Tuskegee University, University of Delaware and University of California at Los Angeles.

The Mission of CECAM

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) created a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in December 2003. This center is known as the FAA Joint Advanced Materials and Structures (JAMS) Center of Excellence. The center, awarded jointly to Wichita State University and the University of Washington, will conduct research, engineering and prototype development toward the safe and reliable use of advanced materials and composites in commercial aircraft.

This award established the FAA Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (CECAM) led by the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University.

The mission of the center is to provide the nation with a center for the validation and quality assurance of composites and advanced materials applied in the construction of commercial aircraft. It will do this through (1) research, testing, certification and technology transfer; (2) coordination and cooperation with the FAA, commercial aircraft manufacturers, materials suppliers and airline companies; and (3) education of the aircraft manufacturing and maintenance workforces.

Overall, the objectives of the Center of Excellence will be to perform basic and applied research within specific technology areas. This will help facilitate growth and education of the use of advanced materials with emphasis on the needs of the aircraft industry while supporting the safety and certification issues involved in airworthiness assurance.  CECAM will also fulfill the FAA’s need to advance composite technology documentation related to FAA certification policy, guidance and training.

Of these objectives, NIAR’s focus is primarily on the safety and certification of emerging applications of composites and advanced materials in commercial aircraft.

For more information about CECAM, please visit the NIAR website at www.niar.wichita.edu.