Correction appended.
Undergraduates in the Avionics Research Center in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology will have a role in developing technology that will allow planes to navigate more efficiently, thanks to a five year grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The $7.5 million research agreement was finalized in July and is one of several contracts between Ohio University and the Federal Aviation Administration since 1963 when Richard McFarland founded the administration.
“This contract is just a demonstration of the continued excellence of the center,” Colleen Carow, the spokeswoman for Russ College, said. “For decades it's been providing solutions to various government and organizations across the country. It’s a validation of their expertise in this area.”
This most recent grant was first proposed December 2015.
“The funds go to pay for the actual research in terms of equipment and the experiments themselves,” Carow said.
OU and the Federal Aviation Administration have already decided on two of the projects that will receive funding: the Federal Aviation Administration Visual Guidance System and NextGen Distance Measuring Equipment Program, according to an OU news release.
The Distance Measuring Equipment Program will allow pilots to fly a more direct route by reducing the need to rely on "checkpoints" at the ground level. Instead, the system gauges its position in relation to the actual destination, Michael DiBenedetto, director of the Avionics Research Center, said.
The technology also cuts down on fuel usage, he said.
“The mission of the FAA navigation program is to support electronic navigation so that includes guidance and procedures for all phases of flights,” DiBenedetto said. “Our navigation will give you a more direct routing so the distance you fly is shorter.”
DiBenedetto added that the administration could use programs OU students develop.
“It benefits OU in lots of ways,” Pete Shooner, spokesman for the Russ College said. “We are an education institution so the biggest value is that students at the Russ College are going to be able to get hands on research experience ... from an agency as prominent as the FAA.”
This grant is similar to grants awarded by the administration in the past, Tim Needham, an OU alumnus and research engineer for the Avionics Center, said.
“I was an intern with avionics working on a similar contract," he said. "It really benefited me as a student because it gave me real world knowledge. ... As a student, it helped expose me to what's outside the classroom.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Colleen Carow's name and misstated her title. She is the spokeswoman for Russ College. This article has been updated to show the most accurate information.
