UD Awarded Multi-million Dollar Air Force Contract
John Porcari
Contributing Writer
UD Research Institute (UDRI) has been awarded a multi-year contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory for the development of aircraft designs and technologies.
- The new contract, which lasts until December 2025, could be worth up to $44 million over the next seven years
- This contract follows a pair of other major research contracts, worth as much as $72 and $96 million, that the Air Force awarded to UDRI earlier in 2018
- While the contracts awarded earlier in 2018 focused on technologies to improve the cost, safety and maintenance of aircrafts, the new one involves work with cutting edge materials to develop a new generation of Air Force aircraft
- Due to the number of aircraft systems companies in the Dayton area and the proximity of U.S. Air Force facilities, much of UDRI’s work focuses on aviation innovation
- Over the course of its history, UDRI has been awarded more than $2 billion worth of contracts
- UDRI was founded in 1956 and aims to research and evaluate new technologies on behalf of corporate and government clients, giving UD students who participate in this research practical and professional experience
- It’s grown significantly since its creation, employing almost 600 people as of last year with close to 400 current UD students participating in research
- Through UDRI, the University of Dayton conducts more materials research on behalf of clients than any other university in the U.S.
Photo taken from af.mil