October 09, 2007

Major NASA Research Initiative Comes to Cal Poly

Two Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering professors have signed separate million dollar contracts with NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Their research will help shape the future of air flight. Dr. David D. Marshall and Dr. Rob McDonald submitted separate winning proposals for research related to NASA's umbrella plan to develop future generation aircraft.

"The next two decades are ripe for an aviation renaissance," said McDonald. "Advanced multidisciplinary physics-based design and analysis capabilities are required to pursue the revolutionary vehicle and technology concepts needed to meet NASA's aggressive goals."

McDonald proposed developing a multidisciplinary analysis and optimization (MDAO) software framework that will facilitate the design of future aircraft. He was awarded a three-year contract worth nearly $1 million which he will use to fund four Cal Poly students. McDonald will also collaborate with Phoenix Integration, based in Wayne, PA, and renowned independent software developer J.R. Gloudemans.

Marshall's research team will work to develop prediction methods and design and fabricate test hardware that can predict the low speed, high lift performance of Cruise Efficient Short Takeoff and Landing (CESTOL) aircraft. The first year budget for the project totals more than $850,000.  NASA will award his second and third year funding, totaling nearly$3 million, via a down-select competition between the first year awardees.

Marshall anticipates funding at least five Cal Poly students and collaborating with several researchers, including Robert Englar of the Georgia Tech Research Institute. "Cal Poly and its collaborative partners will use a multidisciplinary approach that integrates the talent of its highly qualified team to maximize the benefit to NASA and to the future flying public," he said.

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