Editor’s note: This advisory was updated on March 24, 2026, to update the finalists list. NASA has selected seven student teams as finalists in the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, giving them the resources to help address a critical challenge for U.S. aviation: aircraft maintenance. Challenges facing the commercial aviation industry include a shortage of qualified maintenance workers and increasing demands to keep complicated aircraft running […]
NASA’s University Innovation (UI) project funds university-led innovation to address the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s system-level challenges via independent, NASA-alternate-path, multi-disciplinary awards. Strategic Goals The UI portfolio’s strategic goals in descending order of importance are: 1. Assist in achieving aviation outcomes defined in the ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan through NASA-complementary research. 2. Transition research […]