JCATI symposium attendees listening to John Hamilton from Boeing present “ Challenges in Aviation Innovation .”
As a small company , Echodyne has to keep its team focused on its prime business lines , but “ there ’ s so many cool areas the technology can be applied at ,” Finan said . “ Things that are definitely on our road map , but we don ’ t have time or resources to look at ourselves .”
But by applying for – and winning – a grant from JCATI , Echodyne was able to have a research team from the University of Washington explore other potential uses for its metamaterial radar array .
That ’ s what JCATI ( or “ juh-CAH-tee ,” as insiders call it ) is all about , said the center ’ s Director , Beth Hacker .
JCATI was established by then-Washington Governor Chris Gregoire in 2012 . It grew out of the state ’ s efforts to woo Boeing , which was considering options for establishing a new out-of-state plant for its 737 MAX program . The 737 MAX – which took its first flight in March – ended up in Renton , after the company and Machinists Union District Lodge 751 agreed to a contract extension , but JCATI was brought to life anyway , with a mission of helping Washington State aerospace companies take advantage of the brainpower at Washington ’ s colleges and universities .
It works like this :
Washington companies – or those with a major in-state presence – are eligible to submit research proposals to JCATI annually . Sometimes they ’ ve already established a connection with a university researcher ; sometimes Hacker helps connect them with a professor with specific expertise .
The proposals are reviewed by a mix of academic and industry experts in the specific field , and the center ’ s board of directors – a mix of university and industry experts , all appointed by the state ’ s governor – who then pick the proposals to be funded .
Each year , the center provides about a dozen grants , of up to $ 100,000 each , to hire either graduate students or college seniors to work on the company ’ s project , under the supervision of the university researcher .
It ’ s a win-win-win-win , Hacker says : The academics get real-world data to further their own research goals ; their universities gain intellectual property ; the companies get additional expert help researching specific problems or opportunities ; and the students get direct aerospace industry experience – or sometimes even job offers – in the early stages of their careers .
28 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS