Cooperative Agreement DEEE0007883

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Directorate awarded a $147,827 EAGER/Collaborative Research grant to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) to investigate the extraordinary stability and rapid recovery capabilities of flying insects, specifically the hawkmoth. This Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project will use mathematical analyses and high-fidelity computer simulations to fully explore and explain how certain insects can tolerate large...

Seaflight Technologies Inc. will develop novel aerodynamic circulation control technologies for electric aircraft wings through this $275,000 National Science Foundation Project Grant awarded under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). The one-year project will advance research and development of high-lift wing designs using electric jet circulation control to increase maximum lift coefficients and enable longer range for small electric aircraft. Computational...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment awarded Pitch Aeronautics Inc., a veteran-owned small business, a $649,816 Project Grant under the USDA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The grant supports the development of a specialized drone system to install bird diverters on power lines, with the goal of reducing bird collisions and mortality. Key objectives of the project include integrating an electromagnetic field-based state...

This $384,930 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083) supports the acquisition of a drop tower impact test capability at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The drop tower will allow researchers to study rate-dependent fracture behavior across a variety of materials, from metals and polymers to composites, under controlled high-speed impact conditions. It will complement existing test techniques and enable undergraduate research,...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $274,853 Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) grant to Pitch Aeronautics Inc., a veteran-owned small business, to develop techniques for localizing drones near power lines and control strategies for installing, removing, and maintaining dynamic line rating (DLR) sensors on power lines. The project aims to alleviate the backlog of renewable energy projects desiring to connect to the power grid by automating the installation and...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award of $274,727 to Changeaerial LLC will fund the integration of deep learning algorithms for UAS-based infrastructure inspection. The goal is to achieve greater performance and automation for inspecting overhead electric infrastructure, with the potential to expand to other infrastructure types like telecommunication towers, pipelines, and bridges. Key aspects include: Integrating...

This $251,622 project grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill aims to investigate the unique properties of feathers and feathered wings that enhance bird flight capabilities. The key products and services to be delivered under this grant include: Developing first-of-their-kind computational models to simulate the complex vortex-dominated flows, aero-structural deformations, and feather permeability...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) EAGER (Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research) award under CFDA 47.041 - Engineering provides $300,000 in funding to The University of Iowa to research methods for integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) with manned aircraft during airport landing procedures. The key focus areas include: 1) developing advanced motion planning algorithms to coordinate the navigation and control of multiple manned and unmanned aircraft, 2) enhancing pilot comfort...

This $255,843 National Science Foundation project grant under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program will fund research and development of an integrated high lift propulsor to enable affordable and energy-efficient advanced air mobility aircraft designs. Wayfarer Aircraft Research and Development Inc. will conduct wind tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations from August 2022 to July 2023 to characterize aerodynamic interactions between a propeller and wing...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) provides $276,000 to Astrabeam LLC and Penn State University to develop a D-band, silicon-based phased array radar front-end module for smart sensing applications. Specifically, the awardees will design, model, simulate, and demonstrate a prototype radar module operating beyond 100 GHz with wide bandwidth. The scalable, area-efficient front-end architecture and phased array...