FAA awards universities $16 million in aviation research grants

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded 14 universities nationwide more than $16 million in grants for aviation emissions and noise reduction research.

The universities are members of the Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT), an initiative that is part of a portfolio of solutions to encourage the sustainable production of aviation fuel and reduce aviation emissions globally. ASCENT is part of the FAA’s Air Transport Center of Excellence for Alternative Fuels and the Environment.

Grants have been awarded to projects addressing sustainable aviation fuel, air quality and noise, and future propulsion. Projects include:

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology received $1.9 million to perform analyzes that support the development of stricter airworthiness standards to regulate aircraft noise and carbon dioxide emissions.

Missouri University of Science and Technology was awarded $2.050 million to measure combustion emission reductions from sustainable aviation fuels.

The University of Dayton, University of Illinois and Stanford University have received $2.4 million to test new types of fuel to ensure their safety in use and support efforts to approve the 100% sustainable use of aviation fuel in existing aircraft.

The FAA has awarded 43 grants to university research teams for a variety of projects.