NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate solicited for a fifth round of University Leadership Initiative proposals in March 2021. Selections were announced in December 2021.
Zero-Carbon Engine Core with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycle for Onboard Power
Principal Investigator: Jayanta Kapat (University of Central Florida)
Co-Investigators: Subith Vasu (University of Central Florida), Richard G. Blair (University of Central Florida), Sandra Hick (University of Central Florida), Hans-Jürgen Kiesow (University of Central Florida), Dimitri Mavris (Georgia Institute of Technology), Jonathan Gladin (Georgia Institute of Technology), Terrence Meyer (Purdue University), Guillermo Paniagua (Purdue University), Michael Stoia (Boeing), Kevin Jui (Boeing), Nicholas Applegate (Boeing), Greg Natsui (General Electric), Keith McManus (General Electric), Swati Saxena (Ansys), Joshua Schmitt (Southwest Research Institute), Timothy Allison (Southwest Research Institute), Grant Musgrove (Southwest Research Institute), Kevin Thompson (Greater Orlando Aviation Authority)
Topic: Zero Emissions Aviation
Period of Performance: 5 years, dates TBD
Integrated Zero-Emission Aviation using a Robust Hybrid Architecture
Principal Investigator: Louis Cattafesta (Florida State University)
Co-Investigators: Lance Cooley (Florida A&M University – Florida State University College of Engineering), Wei Guo (FAMU-FSU), Juan Ordonez (FAMU-FSU), Sastry Pamidi (FAMU-FSU), Helen Li (FAMU-FSU), Peter Cheetham (FAMU-FSU), Chul Kim (FAMU-FSU), Charmane Caldwell (FAMU-FSU), Jim Zheng (University at Buffalo), Jiangbiao He (University of Kentucky), Dan Ionel (University of Kentucky), Jon Gladin (Georgia Institute of Technology), Dimitris Mavris (Georgia Institute of Technology), Parag Kshirsagar (Raytheon), John Hull (Boeing), Philippe Masson (Advanced Magnet Lab)
Topic: Zero Emissions Aviation
Period of Performance: 5 years, dates TBD
Lowering Emissions and Environmental Impact from Civil Supersonic Transport
Principal Investigator: Adam Steinberg (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Co-Investigators: Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar (Georgia Institute of Technology), Jimmy Tai (Georgia Institute of Technology), Steven Barrett (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Sebastian Eastham (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Gwibo Byun (Virginia Tech), K. Todd Lowe (Virginia Tech), Fatemeh Shafiei (Spelman College), Philip Whitefield (Missouri University of Science and Technology), Michael Benjamin (General Electric), Krishna Venkatesan (General Electric), Joseph Zelina (General Electric), Rick Miake-Lye (Aerodyne Research Incorporated)
Topic: Innovation in Commercial Supersonic Aircraft
Period of Performance: 3 years, dates TBD
Robust and Resilient Autonomy for Advanced Air Mobility
Principal Investigator: Naira Hovakimyan (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
Co-Investigators: Sayan Mitra (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Srinivasa M. Salapaka (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Bo Li (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Lui Sha (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Melkior Ornik (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Evangelos Theodorou (Georgia Institute of Technology), Chuchu Fan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Ali Karimoddini (North Carolina A&T State University), Ioannis Raptis (North Carolina A&T State University), Petros Voulgaris (University of Nevada at Reno), Christos Papachristos (University of Nevada at Reno), Christopher Elliott (Lockheed Martin), Greg Tallant (Lockheed Martin), Jack Cross (Sierra Nevada), Andy Smith (Sierra Nevada)
Topic: Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation
Period of Performance: 3 years, dates TBD
University Leadership Initiative
