April 28, 2005

College of Engineering at NC State Receives $5.4 Million Golden LEAF Grant

The Golden LEAF Foundation has awarded $5.4 million to the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University as part of the foundation’s $9.3 million Aerospace Alliance Initiative. The initiative will help businesses in North Carolina make parts for aging military aircraft that are serviced in the state with the initial focus on the Naval Air Depot at Cherry Point.

Over the next three years Golden LEAF will dispense $9.3 million to NC State, Lenoir Community College and the Neuse River Development Authority. NC State’s College of Engineering will receive $5.4 million to establish a Center of Excellence for Certification to help aerospace companies become qualified to manufacture aircraft parts; help aerospace companies implement agile manufacturing technologies that will allow for low-volume production, flexibility and profit; and develop facilities for accelerated stress testing of aircraft parts. NC State will share manufacturing and testing facilities with Lenoir Community College at the Global TransPark in Kinston, which will serve as a training facility and nucleus for several aerospace companies.

Lenoir Community College will receive $1.9 million for worker training, and the Neuse River Development Authority in New Bern will receive $2 million to provide loans to businesses that have been denied conventional financing. The foundation earmarked $1.5 million for another community college training center to be designated later.

The NC State effort is being led by the faculty team of Dr. Jerome J. Cuomo, Distinguished University Research Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Dr. Roger C. Sanwald, senior researcher in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering; and Dr. John S. Strenkowski, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and assistant dean of research in the college.

The Naval Air Depot (NADEP) at Cherry Point provides maintenance, engineering and logistical support to the Navy’s vertical lift aircraft that include helicopters and the V-22 Osprey. In addition, the depot has engineering responsibility for the Navy C-130 transport. It is eastern North Carolina’s largest industrial employer.

Cuomo, Sanwald and Strenkowski have had a technical relationship with engineers at NADEP Cherry Point (NAVAIR) who have expressed strong interest in finding a more efficient source of replacement parts for aging aircraft and advanced maintenance technology. The three recently received authorization to plan the Institute for Maintenance Science and Technology at NC State.

“NADEP is trying to support aircraft that are 30, 40 or 50 years old, and in many cases, the original equipment makers are no longer making parts or are out of business,” Strenkowski said.

In April 2004, NC State signed a contract with NADEP providing funding of $1 million over five years in the form of technical task orders. The contract allowed the professors to establish credibility with NADEP and develop a rapport with the engineers, which led to NC State’s entering into a contractual agreement with the Vertical Lift Center of Excellence (VLCOE) at Cherry Point to address the technical and training challenges of vertical lift aircraft.

Valeria Lee, president of the Golden LEAF Foundation, said, ”Working with potential suppliers of parts in the private sector showed us how costly it is for companies to comply with the complex certification system in place. NC State was a logical partner for the Golden LEAF initiative to provide a centralized resource to help companies obtain parts certification, especially on flight-critical safety parts.”

“The Golden LEAF board believes that helping companies that can support military operations in the state get up and running will develop a significant niche industry that will provide jobs and boost the economy in tobacco-dependent and economically distressed counties,” Lee said. The Golden LEAF initiative has received support from state officials such as Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, Special Assistant for Military Affairs Leigh McNairy and Secretary of Commerce Jim Fain, who are working together to retain military facilities in North Carolina.

“I visited Cherry Point in February, so I've seen firsthand the important work done there,” said NC State Chancellor James L. Oblinger. “I'm very pleased that NC State has a strong role at the base and that we were able to build the case for this grant, which will be a boost to the state's economic development. The grant will not only support the work of civilian and military personnel at Cherry Point, but aerospace-related businesses across the state.”

The Aerospace Alliance Initiative, of which NC State is a crucial part, will make North Carolina attractive to aerospace companies looking to relocate; create new high-tech jobs and investments by start-up North Carolina companies in areas that have lost thousands of jobs in manufacturing and the tobacco industry; and provide a highly skilled workforce through training and education.

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Media Contacts:

Dr. Jerry Cuomo, 919/515-7218 or cuomo@ncsu.edu

Dr. Roger Sanwald, 919/513-2478 or rcsanwal@unity.ncsu.edu

Dr. John Strenkowski, 919/515-7950 or jstrenkowski@ncsu.edu

Kathi McBlief, NC State Engineering Communications, 919/515-2283 or kathi_mcblief@ncsu.edu

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