Metron Aviation Becomes Affiliate of George Mason Universitys Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering

The co-location of Metron Aviation adjacent to George Mason's Center for Air Transportation takes the idea of industry-academic collaboration to a whole new level, said Dr. Lance Sherry, Director of CATSR and faculty member in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department at George Mason. CATSR looks forward to the increased collaboration between academia and industry afforded by Metron Aviation. This is a win-win for all involved. Students and faculty are exposed to real-world problems faced by Metron Aviation, and Metron Aviation can leverage the inter-disciplinary knowledge and creativity of the students and faculty. CATSR was established in 2003 with an objective to foster excellence in education and research in air transportation. Current joint research initiatives include control and evolution of complex, adaptive air-transportation networks, the adaptation of market-based techniques for harmonizing capacity and demand, rare-event safety analysis and understanding multi-dimensional environmental impacts of aviation. Our relationship with George Mason University is of vital importance to Metron Aviation. As a company, we are consistently creating groundbreaking solutions for the worlds aviation community, said Dr. Terence Thompson, Vice President and Chief Environmental Scientist for Metron Aviation. Being able to collaborate with leading experts in transportation, systems engineering, computer science, economics and other disciplines, allows Metron Aviation to research, explore, and develop innovative solutions for the next-generation air transport system. These solutions will increase safety and capacity, while also reducing aviation's environmental footprint. Metron Aviation employees rotate through the office on a regular basis, taking advantage of the collaborative environment, ability to take classes, and even partake in guest -teaching opportunities. The academic environment not only enriches the quality of research Metron Aviation is conducting, but also allows access to some of the leading aviation and engineering minds in the country. "Our strong partnership with Metron Aviation has many mutual benefits. For example, it enables very effective interaction and collaboration between CATSR and employees of the company, said Dr. Lloyd Griffiths, Dean of the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering. Having them co-located in our building means that students and Metron Aviation employees are working across the hall from each other, rather than blocks or miles apart. I foresee many exciting new projects resulting from this first-of-a-kind partnership." About Metron Aviation Founded in 1995, Metron Aviation provides concept engineering, advanced research, software development, Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM), Collaborative Decision Making (CDM), surface operations management, airspace design, and environmental analysis solutions to the global aviation industry. Metron Aviation fuses advanced science and mathematics with unparalleled subject-matter expertise to turn groundbreaking Air Traffic Management (ATM) research concepts into operational capabilities. Customers include the FAA, NAV CANADA, NASA, ATNS, FedEx, Air Canada, Memphis International Airport, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Airservices Australia and many more. For more information, please visit www.metronaviation.com.