The Wichita Eagle

Thanks to efforts led by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and the Kansas congressional delegation, Wichita State’s research and testing capabilities are being increasingly noticed by international industry and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Wichita State just concluded its best-ever fiscal year in research grants and contracts, propelled by significant new contracts with the potential return to U.S. taxpayers of many times what is being invested.

At the Paris Air Show last month, the most important gathering of international aviation companies and their leaders, more than 350 people gathered to celebrate Wichita’s role as the Air Capital of the World.

Sen. Moran said: “Nowhere else in the world can you find a cluster of aerospace industry and educational institutions like Wichita State University, working together to develop not only airframes and materials, but a ready, capable and talented workforce that will sustain the aerospace industry into the future."

Moran, co-chair of the Senate Aerospace Caucus, has been regularly bringing Defense officials to WSU’s Innovation Campus and National Institute of Aviation Research to see the capabilities being developed for aircraft sustainment.

We are grateful to Sen. Moran, his congressional colleagues and the industry and government leaders who have placed their faith in WSU research capabilities.

Andy Tompkins, interim president, Wichita State University

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