The Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (CECAM) is a division of the FAA’s , established in 2004 to assist in ensuring the safe and reliable application of composites and advanced materials to commercial aircraft. CECAM is headquartered at ʹ University’s National Institute for Aviation Research.

CECAM Mission:
To provide the nation with a center for the validation and quality assurance of composites and advanced materials to be applied in the construction of aircraft through:

  • Research, testing, certification, and technology transfer
  • Coordination and cooperation with the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, materials suppliers, and airline companies
  • Education of the aircraft manufacturing and maintenance workforces

Core Members:

FAA Sponsor: William J. Hughes Technical Center
Director: John Tomblin. Ph.D., National Institute for Aviation Research, ʹ
FAA COE CECAM Program Manager: Ahmet Oztekin
Primary CECAM Technical Advisors: Edward Weinstein, Larry Ilcewicz, Cindy Ashforth, Ahmet Oztekin, Dave Stanley, Lynn Pham, Danielle Stephens, Kevin Stonaker


Current Projects:

  • Additive Manufacturing Guidance for Aircraft Design and Certification
    John Tomblin, Rachael Andrulonis, Royal Lovingfoss, Joel White, Neville Tay
  • Advanced Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Materials Guidance for Aircraft Design, Certification and Process Control  John Tomblin, Royal Lovingfoss, Rachael Andrulonis
  • Bond Process Qualification Protocols for Aircraft Design and Certification
    Waruna Seneviratne, John Tomblin, and Upul Palliyaguru
  • Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) Materials Guidance for Aircraft
    John Tomblin, Matt Opliger, Rachael Andrulonis
  • Certification by Analysis / Full Scale Drop Tests / Effect of Defects / Effect of Disinfectants
    Gerardo Olivares, Luis Gomez
  • Core Materials Qualification Guidelines for Aircraft Design and Certification
    Rachael Andrulonis, Royal Lovingfoss, Nicole Stahl
  • Development of Guidance for a Technical Standard Order (TSO) for Composite Materials
    John Tomblin, Royal Lovingfoss, Rachael Andrulonis
  • Development of Higher-Level Building Block Testing Standards
    Waruna Seneviratne, John, Tomblin, Nalin Waas, and Reomal Vanderwall
  • Development of Process Specifications for AFP Tape Slitting
    Waruna Seneviratne, John Tomblin, Alex Martens
  • Evaluation of Aged Composite Structures
    Waruna Seneviratne, John Tomblin, Chris Trevino
  • Evaluation of Aged Structural Bonds on Rotor Blades
    Waruna Seneviratne, Caleb Saathoff
  • Resin Infused Fiber Reinforced Materials Guidelines for Aircraft Design and Certification
    John Tomblin, Royal Lovingfoss, Rachael Andrulonis, Michelle Man
  • Technology Readiness Assessment for Stitched and Unstitched Resin Infused Composites
    Christopher O. Bounds, Wayne Huberty