Newswise — Wichita State University remains first among all U.S. universities in business-financed aeronautical engineering research and development (R&D) expenditures and third in overall aeronautical engineering R&D expenditures, according to newly released National Science Foundation (NSF) data.

The data is taken from the NSF's Higher Education Research and Development survey, compiled by its National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. It includes information from all reporting universities from fiscal year 2014, when Wichita State reported $29 million in industry-funded aerospace R&D.

During this time, Wichita State also received $10 million from federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration and NASA, and additional funding from the State of Kansas. Overall aerospace R&D funding for 2014 totaled $40 million, putting Wichita State in the No. 3 spot in overall funding.

For fiscal year 2015, Wichita State recorded $43 million in aeronautical engineering R&D, including $24 million in business-financed R&D expenditures.

Wichita State's strength in aerospace R&D is primarily because of the efforts of the National Institute for Aviation Research, the nation's largest university-based aerospace R&D institute. In 2014, NIAR's top industry clients included Beechcraft, Bombardier, General Atomics and Learjet.

NIAR specializes in additive manufacturing; advanced coatings; aerodynamics; composites and advanced materials; computational design and analysis; environmental and electromagnetic effects; full-scale structural testing; impact dynamics; and robotics and automation. For more information about NIAR's capabilities, go to the website at www.wichita.edu/niar.

A photograph is available at http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/newsrelease/highres/?pid=5906# # # # #Contact: Tracee Friess, NIAR director of communication, 316-978-3873 or [email protected].