Boeing’s (IW 500/13) new research and technology center in Alabama, which was opened last week, will serve as the company's hub for collaborative technology development with academic institutions and research partners in analytics and simulation in the Southeast United States.
"The next 100 years of innovation starts here," said Steve Swaine, leader of the Boeing Research & Technology-Alabama (BR&T-Alabama) research center, which is comprised of 80,000 square feet of laboratories and offices.
BR&T is the company's advanced and central research and development organization, providing technologies that enable the development of future aerospace solutions while improving the cycle time, cost, quality and performance of existing Boeing products and services.
With 220 engineers, technicians and staff, the center will work on technologies that include simulation and analytics, systems analysis, applied mathematics, chemicals, composite materials, metals and ceramics, propulsion, avionics systems and sensors, communication and sensing, cybersecurity, materials and processes and product standards.
Looking for applications across a variety of sectors, the the BR&T-Alabama team has lab space equipped with autoclaves that heat-treat composite materials, an accelerated rate calorimeter to test heat reactions, state-of-the-art machines to test the properties of metals, and computers to simulate and test vehicle management systems.
The team has built multiple computing networks that enable researchers around the globe to integrate simulations and further technology development in a fast and collaborative environment.
