Academy, Singapore university team up for research Published March 7, 2008 By Julie Imada U.S. Air Force Academy Dean of Faculty research writer U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Singapore's Nanyang Technological University may seem worlds away from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. But thanks to a new cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, between Nanyang and the Academy, the world has gotten a lot smaller. The agreement, signed Feb. 28, by Dean of the Faculty Brig. Gen. Dana Born, Director of Research Lt. Col. David Bell, Nanyang's Chair of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Lam Khin Yong and the Dean of the College of Engineering Professor Pan Tso-Chien, will allow a foreign university to work collaboratively with the Academy on various multi-disciplinary research efforts. It is the Academy's first international CRADA to date and both General Born and Colonel Bell hope more opportunities for such partnerships will develop in the future. "This collaboration not only benefits both of our institutions' faculty and student bodies, but is an important step in furthering the goodwill between our two countries," General Born said during her visit to Nanyang. The agreement will allow both institutions' students and faculty to utilize research facilities, offer publication and grant research opportunities and offer cadets' new cultural experiences and opportunities. "When the delegation from Nanyang came to the Academy in September of 2007, we learned that we share a range of common disciplines including studies in basic sciences, engineering, humanities and the social sciences," General Born said. "We will continue to build on that shared foundation through suitable and collaborative research projects." The areas of research in the agreement include mechanics and structural integrity, computational modeling and aerodynamics, laser and optics research, space physics and satellite systems, as well as learning sciences and problem-based learning. "The Academy can help to develop the scientists and students who will assist in leading Singapore's future scientific endeavors," she said. The benefits to the Academy are also an important part of the endeavor and General Born said cadets and faculty will benefit from exposure to advanced graduate research opportunities, as well as exposure to Singapore's rich culture and history. "These cadets will be better future Air Force officers as a result of this collaboration." Several Academy faculty members also attended the CRADA signing including Director of the Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension Lt. Col. Scott Fawaz, Director of the Aeronautics Research Center Dr. Tom McLaughlin, Director of the High-performance Computing Research Center Dr. Keith Bergeron and Director of the Laser and Optics Research Center Dr. Randy Knize. The group was given behind-the-scene tours of different research departments and projects including miniature computerized rovers, flight simulators, computer technology projects and capabilities, as well as Nanyang's research efforts in unmanned aerial projects and in aerodynamics. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page