I have not been in aerospace academia for several years but when I was I recall a ton of research going on to solve problems with helicopter airfoils. Rotating wings have a bunch of unique issues to deal with involving several disciplines at the same time- material science, aerodynamics, aeroelastics, structures, and system dynamics to name a few. The problem is that few researchers have experience in all these fields, and it is slow going while each advance gets integrated with the others. Helos may seem like simple machines that have been around for decades, but only in the last 10 years has helo theory taken center stage in many research institutions. So I am not surprised to see the envelope being pushed and I believe helos are going to occupy a much larger presence in military and commercial applications as the versatility, safety, and speed increases. Too bad I was not into them in school because they really are the subject to be in right now.