The University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH) is off to a great start with the first 18 of our core applied research projects underway and additional projects in the review cycle. Industry, government and academia came together for our first in-person forum Nov.8-9 in College Station, Texas, allowing us to realize one of our main objectives for the UCAH.
In particular, many of you are still talking about the value of the information shared and the collaboration opportunities provided. As many of us are finding, nothing beats being able to meet in person and have a sidebar conversation with a colleague after a presentation to talk about potential collaborations or to share ideas.
At the forum we began a new open partnership between the government and those involved in research. Striving for maximum transparency in the UCAH, the government shared plans, priorities and strategies in real time to our members. We appreciated how you responded with dialogue and discussion about how to engage in significant applied science in the future.
Now that our operations tempo for research is well established, it’s time to fully engage the UCAH members and affiliates in completing our objectives of a well-aligned ecosystem of organizations moving in a purposeful direction. Our governance board and UCAH committees are already strategizing UCAH’s next steps. Stay tuned for programs that develop our workforce, such as targeted curricula, internships, scholarships and events specifically tuned to the needs of our community and a continuation of our very popular UCAH Seminars.
I could not be more pleased with the progress we have made together and am certain that this time next year, we will all see an exponential increase in the impact of the UCAH. Thanks for building this together with us, and I look forward to an exciting year ahead.
Dr. Gillian Bussey
