Airports in key locations are operating at full capacity, air travel is increasing, and noise is the major barrier to further expansion.  To address this problem, investigators at Cambridge University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are creating a jet aircraft concept that has noise as the prime design variable with the ambitious goal of a step change in aircraft noise levels.  This work is being done in collaboration with representatives from the British government, the civil aerospace/aviation industry, other universities and community action groups under the “Silent Aircraft Initiative.”  In this seminar, I will present the conceptual design, challenges that my team is facing with airframe noise and natural extensions to this research.  Currently, the silent aircraft features ultra-high bypass ratio engines embedded into a blended-wing-body style airframe.  With the increased bypass ratio, engine noise has been lowered to the point where airframe noise is important on both approach and takeoff.  To address this we are currently pursuing airframe noise mitigation through: (1) airfoil optimization to eliminate the high lift system and reduce airfoil self-noise, (2) implementation of steeper approach flight paths and (3) changing operational procedures.  To conclude the seminar, I will discuss a natural extension to the current silent aircraft work using techniques that directly relate the emission of aeroacoustic sound to turbulence phenomena.  These methods could be applied to develop a better understanding of the critical airframe noise issues for a blended-wing-body design as well as providing validation of the semi-empirical noise estimation techniques that were used for the analysis of the silent aircraft.  Through these research efforts, a new aircraft design will emerge that achieves a significant decrease in noise from today’s aircraft with the potential fuel savings of a blended-wing-body.