EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – The William J. Hughes Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center celebrated its 50th anniversary Tuesday, with events and exhibitions that attested to an innovative and important history.

From crash testing with high-tech dummies to creating explosion scenarios, the FAA has long been pushing research limits.

"Every single advance in air transportation that you’ve seen in the last 50 years has come through this building," says Wilson Felder, director of the complex.

Among the center’s accomplishments are fire-retardant seats and the Traffic Collision Avoidance System, meant to prevent planes from crashing when all else fails.

Since September 11, 2001, the center has also trained thousands of air marshals.

Thursday’s anniversary celebration featured an array of demonstrations, many showing off the FAA’s most recent works.

The exhibits included one of the center’s eight flight simulators and a state-of-the-art Traffic Situation Display.

In addition, there were speeches by prominent FAA officials that highlighted the center’s continued dedication to innovation.

"[Researchers] have a body of scientific knowledge here second-to-none, and they’re going to play a very important role in the next generation of air traffic safety testing and evaluation," says William J. Hughes, the tech center’s namesake.

Of the up-and-coming projects in which the center is involved, officials are particularly proud of the Automatic Dependence Surveillance Broadcast (ADSB).

"It's our replacement for the radar system. It's a satellite-based system that we'll use for navigation and ultimately for surveillance in the air traffic system," says Victoria Cox, Senior Vice President of FAA’s NextGen and Operations Planning.

She says it is currently being implemented in the Gulf of Mexico where radar surveillance has long been an issue.

Appreciating the history of the FAA Technical Center while lauding its most recent achievements, Hughes says he hopes the center will be at the forefront of aviation technology for "50 more years and then some."