A first-in-the-nation study to transform runway design and maintenance

April 28, 2026

Categories: General News Tags: Research, William States Lee College of Engineering

Tara Cavalline and Jack Christine (center) with (l to r) Vice Chancellor John Daniels, Dean Rob Keynton, Chancellor Sharon Gaber and Executive Director Lingguang Song.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport and UNC Charlotte’s Aviation and Innovation Research Institute are partnering on a first‑of‑its‑kind national research project to better understand how airport runways perform. Led by Tara Cavalline, director of the Charlotte AIR Institute, the team is embedding high‑sensitivity sensors directly into a new runway currently being built between runways 2 and 3. These instruments will capture real‑time and long‑term data on how concrete responds to aircraft loads and environmental conditions.

Learn more about this first-in-the-nation study.