WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced a new partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and GE Aviation, an Ohio-based aeronautics manufacturing firm that is a subsidiary of General Electric.  The new partnership makes GE Aviation one of six companies to pursue joint research with NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate on composite materials.

“This is great news for Southwest Ohio and is a great example of Ohio’s high-tech manufacturing capabilities,” Brown said. “Not only will this partnership bolster jobs in the Cincinnati-area, but it will also invest in research that will reduce the environmental impact of air travel and bolster the safety of airplanes.”

The partnership is under the Integrated Systems Research Program of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, whose stated goal is solve the challenges to modern air transportation, including safety and environmental impact.  GE Aviation was chosen by a panel of experts from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Air Force based on its proposal to reduce the time for development, verification and regulatory acceptance of new composite materials and structures.  The first step of the project is to develop and establish practices for how collaboration between NASA and the six companies will take place, and how companies may be added to the partnership in the future.

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