January 28, 2009
Teams from two U.S. universities have advanced to the second phase of a worldwide student challenge organized by EADS’ Airbus business unit to generate innovative ideas that could help shape the future of aviation.
Selected for Round 2 of the Airbus "Fly Your Ideas" competition is one team from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, along with two others from California’s Stanford University.
They are part of 86 of the worldwide team proposals that were selected for the challenge’s next phase by Airbus experts in fields that range from engineering and marketing to the environment.
These proposals focus on a wide range of topics, including new materials and products/processes, as well as aircraft performance, design, manufacturing and operations. During the next stage, Airbus employees will work with the selected teams to further develop their proposals.
The “Fly Your Ideas” competition has generated an overwhelming response – with more than 2,350 students registering to take part, and 225 teams from 130 worldwide universities completing Round 1 of the challenge. The geographical diversity of the entrants was remarkable, with students from 82 countries taking part. Within the United States, Airbus received entries from teams at 11 universities.
The competition was opened in October 2008 to worldwide college and university students who are in a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral degree program in any academic discipline. The teams will advance through different competitive and challenging rounds, concluding with a live final at the Paris Air Show this June.
A top prize of more than $40,000 will be offered to the team whose idea demonstrates the greatest potential for eco-efficiency improvement.
