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FAA awards universities $16 million in aviation research grants 
October 12, 2022
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  • The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded 14 universities nationwide more than $16 million in grants for aviation emissions and noise reduction research. 

    The universities are members of the Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT), an initiative that is part of a portfolio of solutions to incentivize sustainable aviation fuel production and help reduce aviation emissions worldwide. ASCENT is part of the FAA’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment. 

    Grants were awarded to projects involving sustainable aviation fuel, air quality and noise, and future propulsion. Projects include: 

    The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology were awarded $1.9 million to conduct analyses that support the development of more stringent airworthiness standards to regulate aircraft noise and carbon dioxide emissions. 

    The Missouri University of Science and Technology was awarded $2.050 million to measure combustion emission reductions from sustainable aviation fuels. 

    The University of Dayton, the University of Illinois, and Stanford University were awarded $2.4 million to test novel fuel types to ensure they are safe for use, and support efforts to approve 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel use in existing aircraft. 

    The FAA has awarded 43 grants to university research teams for a variety of projects.