[Avionics Today 06-19-2015] Boeing officially opened its new research and technology facility in Alabama. The Boeing Research & Technology-Alabama (BR&T-Alabama) center will serve as the company’s hub for collaborative technology development with academic institutions and research partners in analytics and simulation in the southeast United States.
The facility’s 80,000 square feet of laboratories and offices are devoted to the creation and development of technologies for use in current and future Boeing products. The 220 engineers, technicians and staff at BR&T-Alabama will develop a variety of other technologies for existing and future Boeing products and services. The team works on technologies that include simulation and analytics, systems analysis, applied mathematics, chemicals, composite materials, metals and ceramics, propulsion, avionics systems and sensors, communication and sensing, cyber security, materials and processes, and product standards.
The BR&T-Alabama team has lab space equipped with autoclaves that heat-treat composite materials, an accelerated rate calorimeter to test heat reactions, machines to test the properties of metals, and computers to simulate and test vehicle management systems. The team has also built multiple computing networks that enable researchers around the globe to integrate simulations and further technology development in a fast and collaborative environment.