Many ULI students have used their experience as a springboard to careers in aviation, according to NASA. Some student ideas, such as designing more efficient wings or building supersonic aircraft that can change shape in flight, are being investigated further by industry or adopted outright.
John Cavolowsky, director of NASA's Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, said: "Through ULI we're building the workforce of the future and fostering the skill sets we so desperately need to compete globally." He added that there are "no better ways ... to help develop that talent within the students than to engage them in identifying big problems and then give them the resources they need to use their creativity to solve them."
Through ULI we’re building the workforce of the future and fostering the skill sets we so desperately need to compete globally.
ULI is unique because it allows university students and faculty to propose what research to conduct. The program evolved from an earlier project called Leading Edge Aeronautics Research for NASA (LEARN). NASA selected five LEARN teams in 2015 to pursue outside-of-the-box ideas. One LEARN team studied whether airliners could save fuel by cruising in a giant 'V' formation, inspired by migrating birds. The concept was intriguing and simple flight tests proved it, but the idea never made it to practice.
NASA's ULI team is looking forward to leveraging student innovations with new awards in 2026 and beyond.
There are no better ways in my mind to help develop that talent within the students than to engage them in identifying big problems and then give them the resources they need to use their creativity to solve them.
For more than a century we have leaned on the brilliance and the capabilities of universities to help us think. With ULI we can ensure they continue to bring their fresh ideas and young energy to the work we do at NASA Aeronautics.