For Release: July 31, 1997
Shenetha Wilburn
(757) 864-7060
RELEASE NO. 97-098
Director of High-Speed Research Program To Speak August 5
The post-war era has given rise to increased competition among
the aircraft manufacturers of the world. To capture this market and
preserve the United States leadership in commercial aviation, the
High-Speed Research program is being conducted by NASA.
On Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 2 p.m. at the NASA Langley H.J.E. Reid
Conference Center, Wallace Sawyer, Langley's director of the
high-speed research program, will discuss the importance of
High-Speed Civil Transport and the program's challenges and major
accomplishments. A media briefing with Sawyer will take place at 1
p.m. in the Reid Center.
As envisioned, a High-Speed Civil Transport would carry 300
passengers 2.4 times the speed of sound in an airplane as long as a
football field. According to Sawyer, the development of a
competitive supersonic transport with existing subsonic transports
will capture a significant portion of the international market.
Sawyer has served as the director of the High-Speed research
program since July 1994 and oversees NASA's focused commercial
high-speed research efforts. Sawyer began his career at Langley in
1965 as an aerospace engineer. He has authored and co-authored over
45 technical publications and has contributed to a technical
textbook.
Sawyer received a bachelor of arts degree in physics and
mathematics from Elon College in North Carolina and pursued
graduate studies in physics at the College of William and Mary and
engineering management at George Washington University. He is an
Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics.
- end -
text-only version of this release | 
