Governor Greg Abbott made it official this week at a luncheon in Fort Worth that Fort Worth is now the Aviation and Defense Capital of Texas. The designation, introduced by state Representatives Charlie Geren and John McQueeney and sponsored by Texas Comptroller and former Senator Kelly Hancock, acknowledges Fort Worth’s enduring leadership in aerospace and defense manufacturing, technology, and innovation. News Article.
The resolution recognizes the city’s deep history from the B-36 Peacemaker and B-58 Hustler to the modern-day F-35 and Bell’s cutting-edge rotorcraft. It also points to a future fueled by advanced research and development. At the heart of this transformation are institutions like the University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute at Fort Worth, whose Institute for Predictive Performance methodologies and Autonomous and Intelligent Systems teams are advancing technologies critical to the sector’s next era.
The IPPM team is constantly researching and experimenting, which contributes to the development of better, newer, and more advanced aerospace and defense worthy heterogeneous materials like ceramic, carbon fiber, polymer, and metal based composites. Working with these high tech composites requires a huge computationally oriented approach as well as rigorous experimental validation. Focused on performance prediction for advanced composites and materials through the development of special material analysis, characterization, and assessment methods such as material structural health monitoring, finite element analysis, multiphysics analysis, multiscale modeling, and so on, IPPM is breaking barriers in material science. These allow prediction of future performance on the basis of the current condition of materials. IPPM researchers are bringing innovation to the table that enables smarter, lighter, and more resilient aerospace and defense technologies. Some of the significant contributions by IPPM towards aerospace research are as follows:
- Design, Manufacture, Evaluation, and Multi-physical Modeling of Aerospace Composite Materials for Enhanced Reliability ;(NASA: 15540-FC36)
- “Modeling, simulation and sensing of progressive damage at multiple scales for performance prognosis in metallic composite aero structures”, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, 2009-2012
- Strong Research presentations at 2025 ASME Aerospace Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials (SSDM) conference reinforcing UTARI’s role as a leader in the ASME community.
Researchers from the Automation and Intelligent Systems team are engaged in developing navigation and control algorithms for a wide variety of vehicles and tasks. Their current research involves coordinated swarm and formation, self-relieving UAVs to ensure uninterrupted coverage. Recently, NASA has awarded AIS with a $1 million dollar grant through its University Leadership Initiative to address safety in autonomous aviation. This is testament to UTARI’s growing presence in aerospace and aviation research. In addition, UTARI boasts a state-of-the-art Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) that is a cornerstone for autonomous drone and robot testing.
The University of Texas at Arlington is expanding its research and innovation capabilities by building a state-of-the-art outdoor netted drone facility called MAVRC: Maverick Autonomous Vehicle Research Center. With a planned inauguration in September, the MAVRC will allow for safe outdoor testing of advanced autonomous aerial vehicles while meeting all FAA regulations. The autonomous aerial vehicles tested in this facility will have a wide range of applications.