Partnership Provides Cost-Effective R&D Alternative for Aviation and Aerospace Industry


MarisJohnsonMedium.jpg AdvAero’s President John Maris (left) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s President Dr. John P. Johnson (right)

Daytona Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 – Today Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Advanced Aerospace Solutions (AdvAero) announced the signing of a research and development agreement to take a long-standing relationship of innovative, world-class research and development to the next level.

Embry-Riddle is the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace with two residential campuses in Florida and Arizona, and more than 150 global locations as part of Worldwide. AdvAero is a U.S. joint venture of which Marinvent Corporation, based in Montreal, Canada, is a founding partner.

The collaboration forges a concrete partnership that represents an important milestone in attracting high-tech, high-profile, aerospace companies to the region to work with Embry-Riddle and help grow the research and technology park adjacent to the Daytona Beach campus.

The complementary relationship combines Embry-Riddle’s breadth of aviation and aerospace focused research and education resources with AdvAero’s unique skills, equipment and experience in product development and flight test certification. The result is the ability to take new ideas from basic research, through laboratory experiments, into flight test and certification and finally product release and technology transfer. This capability delivers a cost-effective R&D alternative for both the public and private sector.

“What we are doing here is bringing together the best of both of our sets of capabilities in order to provide a unique, one-stop shop for aerospace and defense companies who need to realize their aerospace ideas and products on-time and within budget,” said John Maris, CEO of Marinvent.

Embry-Riddle has the world-class resources and expertise to perform fundamental research, while AdvAero has substantial experience in bringing aviation and aerospace solutions to market by performing the certification and approvals needed in the technology and safety-intensive environment of the aerospace industry.

“This agreement represents a clear example of Embry-Riddle’s commitment as an entrepreneurial go-to resource for the aerospace industry,” said Embry-Riddle President Dr. John P. Johnson. “Access to faculty expertise, students immersed in all things aviation and aerospace and the applied focus of our industry-leading engineering programs provide industry with a unique alternative when they are seeking real solutions to real problems.”

AdvAero is committing its unique Flying Avionics Test Bed and Research Simulator, a specially equipped and one-of-a-kind Piaggio Avanti to the venture. The AdvAero Avanti is on display in the outdoor static area, location 315, of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention in Orlando.

“I am very excited about this announcement because I have always believed that the aerospace and defense community would benefit greatly from a broader use of the incredible people, facilities and knowledge base that has been created at Embry-Riddle over the years,” Maris said.

“As we continue to build Embry-Riddle’s capability and reputation as a research-oriented university, the opportunity to support the aviation and aerospace industry will continue to grow,” Johnson added.

About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and http://www.facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.

About AdvAero

AdvAero is an aerospace R&D test and evaluation joint venture company headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. whose major function is to reduce the risk, life cycle cost, time to develop, and time to certify novel aerospace technologies for fixed wing, rotary wing and unmanned platforms. AdvAero specializes in Flight Test Services, Systems Engineering, Human Factors Engineering, Software Development and Civil Certification. AdvAero and its JV partners have a stellar track record of providing outsourced software development and services, and have been awarded numerous Supplemental Type Certificates (STC), ranging from single display upgrades to complete cockpit retrofits, such as the Honeywell CDS/R® retrofit for the Piaggio P180 aircraft, which included a completely new Electronic Flight Instrumentation System, FMS, INS AHRS, autopilot interface, radar, lightning detection, EGPWS, T2CAS, and RVSM certification. AdvAero’s three constituent companies have more than 100 combined years of experience in the aerospace R&D, with a customer base extending from NASA to every major avionics manufacturer in North America. For more information, visit www.adv-aero.com.

About Dr. John P. Johnson

Dr. John P. Johnson, the president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University since 2006, oversees the world’s largest university specializing in aviation and aerospace with more than 33,000 students enrolled around the globe. He is a member of the Governing Board of the Flight Safety Foundation and a recipient of the Jimmy Doolittle Fellowship Award, bestowed on him by the U.S. Air Force Association for his leadership in aerospace education and research. He has expanded Embry-Riddle’s role as a major research center, partnering with the aviation/aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies to solve real-world problems and is leading the development of the Embry-Riddle Aerospace Research & Technology Park in Daytona Beach. Under Dr. Johnson’s stewardship, Embry-Riddle has added several new degree programs, including a doctorate in Aviation – the first in the nation – and a doctorate in Engineering Physics; has established its first Asian center, in Singapore; and has become a national leader in the development of next-generation air traffic management technology.

About John Maris

John Maris is the Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Aerospace Solutions, and is a recognized innovator in the flight test field. Mr. Maris was awarded a 2005 Aviation Week and Space Technology Laureate and Canada’s highest aerospace award, the Trans-Canada (McKee) trophy, for his applied research in Aviation Information Technology and Electronics. This work led directly to the development of the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), which is helping to make the “paperless cockpit” become a reality. As an ex-Air Force Test Pilot, he has been continuously involved in aeronautical research since graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with two masters degrees in 1983. His experience encompasses numerous civilian, military, and NASA test programs, including his leadership of the multi-national team that performed the systems definition of the Robotic Workstations that now control the Canadarm2 on the International Space Station. Mr. Maris has authored numerous patents and technical papers. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. His qualifications include numerous FAA, EASA, and Transport Canada licenses and ratings, including an unrestricted Canadian type rating exemption for all fixed-wing flight test operations.