NEWS RELEASE: 30 January 2023

The DoD announced the selection of three universities for three-yeas, $1,500,000 awards to dadvance hypersonics technology and to quantify the community's workforce development progress.

The University of Florida (UF) will develop a prototype model enabling the virtual evaluation of a full-up hypersonic system and allowing for design optimization, including warhead performance. The prototype is expected to be used in a hypersonic optimization model to virtually assess the performance of explosives. Personnel from UF and the University of Mississippi will conduct this research.

The North Carolina State University (NCSU) will focus on the development of a high-speed, air-breathing engine (HSABE) performance prediction tool capable of incorporating advanced engine and component information into a robust design and operation framework. "Manta," the current HSABE performance tool developed by SpaceWorks Enterprises Inc. (SEI) will serve as the production testbed for the proposed models. Personnel from NCSU, SEI, the University of Michigan, and the NASA Langley Research Center will conduct this work. The Air Force Research Laboratory and Boeing will lend their expertise to help shape the final form of the prototype solution.

The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) will conduct a quantitative assessment of the strength and health of the U.S. national hypersonic workforce in six critical technology areas to build a career development framework for a capable, skilled, and resilient workforce. Personnel from UTSI, Florida A&M, Florida State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Institute for Defense Analyses, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Virginia, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology will conduct this research.

The University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH) and the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office (JHTO) manage these research awards. One of UCAH and JHTO's main objectives is workforce development. Involved undergraduate and graduate students will have the opportunity to gain direct technical hypersonics and industry experience by engaging in their projects.