DoD Seeks Hypersonic Energy from North Carolina A&T

In quest of steadily advancing hypersonic technology and weaponry, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has made a one-year $500,000 applied research award to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State University. N.C. A&T will develop a novel methodology for designing an optimized intake to enhance hypersonic flight performance but is as much about growing a student base for the technology. The school is tasked with developing engineering methods for the hypersonic intake structure which will be analyzed by computer-aided-design (CAD) analysis and tested in high-speed wind tunnels.

The hypersonic research is sponsored by the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office (JHTO) through the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH). In addition to N.C. A&T, hypersonic studies are being jointly performed by Purdue University (see figure), the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing, The Boeing Co., and Leidos Corp. While the program is interested in near-term developments, it is also cultivating hypersonic expertise and workforce development by encouraging graduate and post-doctorate students at all three universities. They will gain practical experience by interfacing with experienced industry engineers at the two industrial sites.