| Hampton’s space age continues
Virginia Business
May 2004
Thanks
to the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton
is already a center for aerospace technology, but it’s
about to become even more so. The National Institute
for Aerospace (NIA), a nonprofit organization formed
in 2002 by Langley in partnership with seven universities,
broke ground in March on a state-of-the-art, 30,000-square-foot
facility. The NIA — which has nearly 50 full-time
technical staff members, graduate students and resident
faculty members already engaged in some 60 research
projects for NASA, as well as a variety of Department
of Defense agencies — is the first tenant in a
new 250-acre office park that will feature six buildings
and 360,000 square feet of office and laboratory space.
The move from a small office to a large complex will
give related aerospace and technology transfer businesses
a chance to co-locate with this independent research
institute and provide support for research into material
science, propulsion, combustion and other fields related
to advances in aviation and aerospace. The NIA and its
partner businesses will also provide research and new
technology development for NASA’s exploration
initiative to send manned flights to the moon and Mars.
“The vision that both NASA and our universities
had is that NIA would be a growth engine for the area,”
says Dr. Robert Lindberg, the NIA’s president
and executive director. “Because we have strengthened
the relationship between the academic community, government
and the aerospace industry, that means growth for all
three segments.”
Several Virginia universities are involved in the institute:
Hampton University, the University of Virginia and Virginia
Tech. These are founding member schools and will work
directly with Langley engineers on various research
projects and collaborate on graduate education. The
College of William and Mary and Old Dominion University
are affiliate members that will also engage in research
projects.
NIA officials anticipate that the organization could
generate as much as $15 million in research dollars
this year and that it will continue to grow 20 percent
annually. Staff levels are expected to top 200 full-time
employees, graduate students and resident faculty within
the next five years.
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