FAA Air Transportation Centers of Excellence

BACKGROUND Congress mandated the establishment of FAA Air Transportation Centers of Excellence in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 Public Law (P.L.) 101-508, Title IX – Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act. Subsequently, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95), Section 907 (b), amended Section 44513 by adding that the FAA Administrator shall transmit annually to specified Congressional committees a report that lists (1) the research projects that have been initiated by each center in the preceding year, (2) the amount of funding for each research project and the funding source, (3) the institutions participating in each research project and their shares of the overall funding for each project, and (4) the level of cost-sharing for each research project. MISSION The mission of the FAA's COE program is to help develop the nation's technology base while educating the next generation of aviation professionals. The program enables collaboration and coordination between government, academia, and industry to advance aviation technologies and expand FAA research capabilities through congressionally required matching contributions. Once selected, the core and affiliate university members, and industry partners serve the FAA as a primary source of subject-matter-expertise for a 10-year period.