The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center is an aviation research and development, and test and evaluation facility.
Technical Center programs include research and development, test and evaluation, and verification and validation in air traffic control, communications, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security.
[6] The Technical Center site's soil and groundwater were contaminated with pollutants including mercury, perfluorinated compounds,[7] arsenic, benzene, cadmium, chloroform, lead, toluene, and numerous other toxic or environmentally harmful chemicals[8] by US Navy, airport, and FAA operations from the 1940s to the 1970s.
[10] Its purpose was to conduct research and development on air traffic control computers, transponders, and advanced radar equipment.
The success (in terms of funding and research activity) eventually forced the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to close its own Technical Evaluation and Development Center in Indianapolis starting in 1959.