Leland picked to serve second term on Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Technology Committee

Ohio Gov. John Kasich reappointed John Leland, University of Dayton vice president for research, to the Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Technology Committee for a two-year term.

Leland, whom Gov. Kasich also appointed to the inaugural committee in 2014 for a two-year term, will help legislators and members of the aerospace and aviation community, including military personnel, academic experts and industry leaders, explore ways to boost the aerospace industry in Ohio.

Strategies include the following:

• Promoting the aviation, aerospace and technology industries throughout the state, including through the commercialization of aviation, aerospace and technology products and ideas;
• Encouraging communication and resource-sharing among individuals and organizations involved in the aviation, aerospace and technology industries, including business, the military and academia;
• Promoting research and development in the aviation, aerospace and technology industries, including research and development of unmanned aerial vehicles;
• Providing assistance related to military base realignment and closure.

Created with the passage of House Bill 292 and sponsored by State Rep. Rick Perales, the committee is required to comprise three Ohio senators, three Ohio representatives, 14 individuals appointed by the committee's legislative members and one Kasich appointee.

Leland became the University's vice president for research in 2015 and oversaw a record research volume—$117.6 million—for the University in fiscal year 2016. The figure ranks the University ninth among private comprehensive research universities without medical schools in the U.S.

According to the most recent National Science Foundation research statistics (FY 2015), the University ranks No. 2 among all colleges in the nation in federally funded materials research and development and third for all materials research and development—ahead of research powerhouses MIT, Princeton, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and Ohio State. The University also ranks among the top 30 nationally in research and development sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, federally sponsored engineering research and development, federally sponsored aerospace research and development, all sponsored aerospace research and development, and all sponsored engineering research and development.

Jan. 25, 2017