This field of study is based on the fundamentals of  fluid mechanics and applied aircraft aerodynamics. Areas of current  research include computational fluid dynamics, turbulent boundary layer  flows, aeroacoustics, rotorcraft aerodynamics, wind turbine  aerodynamics, active flow control, subsonic wind tunnel measurement,  vortex generators, fixed-wing tip vortices, parachute drag prediction  and aircraft design and optimization. Many of these projects are  sponsored by government agencies and leading industrial companies, such  as NASA, the U.S. Army, Sandia National Laboratory, the National Science  Foundation and Boeing.