PWICE
About PWICE
The Pratt & Whitney Institute for Collaborative Engineering (PWICE) was established in 2003 through a generous $10 million gift and pledge of in-kind support from Pratt & Whitney, with additional support from Korean Air. The institute was envisioned by Dr. Y. H. Cho, former USC Trustee and chairman of Korean Air, to promote collaborative research in aerospace technology. Dozens of researchers at the University of Southern California and Inha University have worked collaboratively on over twenty PWICE-funded projects since the institute’s inception in 2003.
The PWICE Board
Michael Winter
Pratt & Whitney
Chief Science Officer, RTX
Michael Weetman
Pratt & Whitney
Deputy Vice President – Asia-Pacific Sales
Yannis Yortsos
University of Southern California
Dean, Viterbi School of Engineering
Mahta Moghaddam
University of Southern California
Professor, Electrical Engineering/Electrophysics, Director, the Microwave Systems, Sensors and Imaging Lab (MiXIL), Viterbi School of Engineering
Gaurav Sukhatme
University of Southern California
Executive Vice Dean, Viterbi School of Engineering
Jaehyun Park Inha University Dean, Inha College of Engineering
Joo-Hyung Kim  Inha University Dean, Div. of Research, Research & Business Foundation
Soo-Keun Lee Korean Airlines President, Korea Airport Service
Research
2024-2026
- Developing electropolishing process for 3D printed Inconel 718
Andrea Hodge, USC; Michael Kassner, USC; Hyun-Taek Lee, Inha; Eun-Sang Lee, Inha - Development of High-Power Solid-State Li-S Battery for Urban Air Mobility; Innovations Spanning from Materials to System-level
Marty Bradley, USC; Hong-Keun Kim, Inha; Minkyu Kim, Inha; Mitul Luhar, USC - Integrated Carbon Capture and Conversion to eJet Fuels
Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz, USC; Changbum Jo, Inha - Printed Sensors for Continuous Monitoring of Stress Corrosion Cracking in Aircraft Materials
Yasser Khan, USC; Changyull Lee, Inha; Sifat Muin, USC
2022-2024
- 3D THz Imaging System with FPGA Accelerator for Robust Defect Detection
Gyungsu Byun, Inha; Qiang Huang, USC - Multiscale Framework for Urban Air Mobility System: From Localization and Navigation to Air Traffic Control
Paul Bogdan, USC; Younggun Cho, Inha; Jyortimoy Deshmukh, USC; Ketan Savla, USC; Jong-Hoon Won, Inha - Novel Solutions to Airline Scheduling Problems: From Classical to Quantum
Youngbum Hur, Inha; Ketan Savla, USC - SiC-SiC CMC Processing via Prepregs – New Tools and New Materials
Chongdu ‘Brian’ Cho, Inha; Steve Nutt, USC
2020-2022
- On-Site Non-Intrusive Inspection and Maintenance System
Gyungsu Byun, Inha; Qiang Huang, USC - Coherent Solid-State LIDAR
Hossein Hashemi, USC; Jaehyun Park, Inha - Smart Multi-Nozzle, Multi-Material 3D Printing System for Fabrication of High-Temperature Plastic Composites Parts
Qiang Huang, USC; Joo-Hyung Kim, Inha University - Cold Spray Deposition for Hybrid Metal-Composite Turbine Blades
Sang-Eui Lee, Inha; Steve Nutt, USC
2018-2021
- Image-Based Surface Damage Detection for Maintenance of Structures
Sami Masri, USC; Soobong Shin, Inha - Creep and Elevated-Temperature Fracture Properties of Additively Manufactured Inconel 625 and 718
Michael Kassner, USC; Kee-Ahn Lee, Inha
2017-2018
- Elevated-Temperature Mechanical Behavior of Additive Manufactured INCONEL Jet Engine Components
Michael Kassner, USC; Kee-Ahn Lee, Inha
News
12 September 2024: PWICE Researcher K. Leslie Gilliard Abdul-Aziz featured in Viterbi News
The sustainability-focused research of Viterbi Professor K. Leslie Gilliard Abdul-Aziz, including her recently-funded PWICE project on carbon capture and e-jet fuels, is featured on the Viterbi News website. Read the full story here.
18 April 2024: PWICE holds twenty-second annual board meeting 
The Pratt & Whitney Institute for Collaborative Engineering held its twenty-second annual board meeting in April 2024 at Inha University in Incheon, South Korea. Inha University was also celebrating its seventieth anniversary. The board members and delegates reviewed the progress of ongoing institute-funded research and selected new proposals for institute funding.
30 March 2012: PWICE Tenth Anniversary
On March 30, 2012, the USC Pratt & Whitney Institute for Collaborative Engineering, a research partnership between the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Korean Air, Inha University, and the Pratt & Whitney Corporation, commemorated its 10-year anniversary during a luncheon event in La Quinta, Calif. The institute is the brainchild of USC trustee Yang Ho (Y. H.) Cho, chairman and CEO of Korean Air, and USC president C. L. Max Nikias, who was dean of the USC Viterbi School at the time of the institute’s founding.
Pictured here (from left): Y. S. Kang, managing vice president, Korean Air; Inha University president Choon-bae Park; Robert Keady, vice president of business development and marketing for commercial engines and global services, Pratt & Whitney; Yang Ho (Y. H.) Cho, USC trustee, and chairman and CEO, Korean Airlines; USC president C. L. Max Nikias; and Yannis Yortos, dean, USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Published on September 9th, 2024
Last updated on October 2nd, 2024
