Grant to finance engineering professors' wind tunnel project

Mechanical and aerospace engineering professors Garry Brown and Richard Miles have received a federal grant of $600,000 for research on their new concept for a facility capable of testing hypersonic flight vehicles and their propulsion systems.

"We've come up with a new concept," Brown said, explaining that most scientists believe it is not possible to test a hypersonic aircraft in a conventional wind tunnel because the temperature of the stored air could be as hot as the temperature of the sun.

"This research project has been going on for a number of years, and recently a lot of progress has been made," Brown said in an e-mail.Their results show that the concept may be a practical way to achieve such high speed flight conditions. Specifically, Brown and Miles have come up with a very detailed model of the tunnel and they are now planning tests using the grant money before the actual tunnel can be built.

Brown said that the research project has two major goals: to be able to put satellites and rockets into space more quickly and cheaply and to be able to develop high-speed missiles for defensive purposes."Though lately America might be interested more in the defense-related applications of this research," Brown cautioned, "I wouldn't want to see that as the dominant rationale." Brown said he would rather emphasize the implications the research has on future space access for communication and surveillance.

"But despite the recent progress made and the important effects this project potentially could have on future defense systems and space exploration, there is still much work ahead for the researchers," he said. "We still have a ways to go."