Oklahoma State University and partners including Tulsa Innovation Labs and the Osage Nation last week celebrated a ribbon-cutting at the LaunchPad for Advanced Air Mobility at the Helmerich Research Center (HRC).
The centre will house dedicated resources to promote the development of new technologies in advanced air mobility, including staff to solicit projects from industry, engineers and researchers to build new products, and supporting services to help commercialize technologies and grow new companies.
OSU President Kayse Shrum said: “The US Economic Development Administration recognises that taking Oklahoma’s aerospace and aviation to the next level has national benefits, and we appreciate the agency’s critical support.”
Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE) executive director Dr Jamey Jacob added: “The creation of the LaunchPad under the OAIRE umbrella will bridge the gap between early stage research and applied technology.
“The long-term goal is to support the ecosystem for external researchers as well as entrepreneurs with startup concepts they would like to transition from early stage to field testing.”
Jennifer Hankins, deputy managing director of Tulsa Innovation Labs, continued: “This investment in OSU-Tulsa is part of our commitment to supporting the ongoing revival of Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District to inspire Tulsa’s next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and young people in the next wave of the aerospace and aviation industries.”
LaunchPad’s first industry partner, WindShape, will create an environmental test facility, gathering data on conditions UAS will experience in flight in a controlled laboratory environment. This includes environmental test facilities to evaluate drones in wind, rain, icing and wildfire conditions.
NASA Education and OSU are celebrating more than 55 years of continuous partnership that has inspired students and immersed them in NASA’s work with programs such as Teacher in Space and Teaching from Space, Explorer Schools, Digital Learning Network and INSPIRE. Under the agreement, OSU and NASA will work together to facilitate joint research, technology transfer, technology development and educational and outreach initiatives.
NASA Director of STEM Engagement Gamaliel Cherry concluded: “The new Space Act Agreement will build on the existing foundation and create an innovative university partnership to leverage NASA and the university’s research opportunities.”
In March, Jump Aero Incorporated was awarded a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer research contract in partnership with Oklahoma State University from the US Air Force’s Agility Prime program.
