Old Dominion, Hampton University pursuing bid for National Institute of Aerospace

Old Dominion and Hampton University have partnered to submit a proposal to build and operate the National Institute of Aerospace, a NASA-affiliated multimillion-dollar research facility that would enable the schools to attract world-class researchers, faculty and top graduate students, and lead cutting-edge aerospace research programs.

The institute would be housed in Hampton near NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), where Old Dominion already operates the Center for Advanced Engineering Environments and the Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel.

According to NASA, the institute would be used to conduct aerospace and atmospheric sciences research and to develop new technologies through partnerships among LaRC, academia and industry. Additionally, the team of universities that operates the center would provide comprehensive graduate and continuing education in science and engineering for NASA, while working to incubate and stimulate the commercialization of new intellectual property.

"We recognize that a center like the NIA demands the nation's best," said Robert Ash, Old Dominion's interim associate vice president for research and graduate studies. "To win this, we need to put forth our best effort."

Old Dominion and Hampton are assembling a team of the country's foremost universities in aeronautics and composites for their proposal, which will be submitted to NASA at the end of April. If their bid is successful, the universities stand to gain 250 professors, students and scientists, plus $20 million in annual investment for the next 20 years.

NASA is slated to award the contract in August.