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Embry-Riddle to Co-Host FAA Centers of Excellence Conference


Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 9, 2003 -- Ambassador Edward Stimpson, U.S. representative on the council of the International Civil Aviation Organization; Roy Bridges, director of NASA's Langley Research Center; and Congressman John Mica are among the dignitaries who have been invited to take part in the third annual FAA Air Transportation Centers of Excellence (COE) joint meeting Nov. 4-7 in Daytona Beach.

The FAA Centers of Excellence program was created in 1990 to facilitate partnerships between government, academia and industry to address the research needs of the aviation industry. The aviation centers established by the FAA are: Aircraft Noise, Airport Technology, Air Transportation Operations Research, Airworthiness Assurance, Aviation Emissions Mitigation and General Aviation. Embry-Riddle has the distinction of being the only university to be a member of four active centers and is the lead university in the FAA's Center of Excellence for General Aviation Research.

"Embry-Riddle was selected to co-host the event with the FAA's Research Division because of our continual involvement with critical aviation issues," said Dr. Steve Hampton, head of research at Embry-Riddle. "We are excited to be able to discuss the challenges facing the aviation industry with such a distinguished group of decision makers."

The four-day session will include discussion of COE success stories, new technologies, future aviation challenges and opportunities, the role of FAA Centers of Excellence, and the potential role FAA Centers of Excellence will assume over the next decade. More than 300 people are expected to attend the conference, which will be held at the Hilton Oceanfront Resort.

In addition to the FAA and Embry-Riddle, COE conference sponsors include Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Aviation Management Associates Inc., The Boeing Company, Harris Corp. and Jeppesen.

The Centers of Excellence conference coincides with Embry-Riddle's Homecoming activities and Wings & Waves 2003: Embry-Riddle Celebrates the Centennial of Flight. Homecoming activities begin on Thursday, Nov. 6, and Wings & Waves on Friday, Nov. 7. Both events continue through Sunday, Nov. 9.

For conference information, call Christina Blanton at (386) 226-7107 or go to www.erau.edu/research/FAA_COE_Meeting/index.html.

Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 25,000 students annually through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.