Facilities

UF Researchers to be Involved in the FAA's Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation

Submitted by Jessica Sockwell on Sun, 08/22/2010 - 9:28pm

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected New Mexico State University (NMSU) to lead a partnership of colleges and universities throughout the country in its new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. The FAA press release describes the center as being a "partnership of academia, industry, and government, developed for the purpose of creating a world-class consortium that will address current and future challenges for commercial space transportation."

Dr. Lou Cattafesta of IMG is leading UF’s participation in this research endeavor as part of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP), one of the institutions participating in this partnership. The FCAAP team, led by Farrukh Alvi at FSU, includes researchers from UF, FSU, UCF, and FIT. The FAA press release can be found here. 

IMG Picosecond Laser Micromachining Workstation Online

Submitted by David Mills on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 4:29pm

Installation of an Oxford Lasers J-355PS Laser Micromachining Workstation has just been completed and the system is ready for use.  The tool is the first of its kind to be installed in the U.S., and provides a unique capability for IMG by enabling the machining of many different types of materials including sapphire and silicon, as well as other glasses and polymers. Purchase of this system was made possible by collaboration between Professors David Arnold and Mark Sheplak of IMG and Professor Tony Schmitz of UF's Machine Tool Research Center (MTRC).