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Aerospace Engineering

Program Overview 

Aerospace engineering is a challenging and exciting field that is engaged in the design of aircraft and space systems. The US aerospace industry is a world leader and one of the largest positive contributors to the US economy. WPI's Aerospace Engineering Program is well balanced to ensure that students develop strong technical competency in the fundamental principles of mathematics and basic science while obtaining a comprehensive education in aerospace engineering. The structure of the program broadens the student's educational scope and provides career opportunities in both aeronautics or astronautics related fields. The Aerospace Engineering Program at WPI is exemplary through its courses and senior Major Qualifying Projects (MQPs). Students gain hands on experience through the completion of an aerospace-related MQP and through laboratory work in courses. Experimental facilities available for course and projects in aerospace engineering include wind tunnels, vacuum chambers, and controls instrumentation. Modern computational laboratories are also available.

Accreditation Information

For more information about the Aerospace Engineering Program, contact Prof. Nikolaos Gatsonis

To request more information about WPI, or to apply for admission, visit the Admissions Web site.

News

 

2012 Aerospace Engineering MQP Awards

Provost's MQP Award in Aerospace Engineering

James Blair, Ethan Connors, Paul Crosby, David Irwin, Keegan Mehrtens, Carlos Sarria
Project: SAE Aero Design East Competition, Micro Class Entry, Team 1
Advisor: Professor David Olinger; Co-Advisor: Professor Simon Evans

Aerospace Engineering MQP Award

Elizabeth Dawson, Nell Nassiff, Dianna Velez
Project: Attitude Determination and Control System Design for a CubeSat Mission
Advisor: Professor Michael Demetriou

Aerospace Engineering MQP Award Honorable Mention

Joe Bauer, Michael Carter, Kaitlyn Kelley, Ernie Mello, Sam Neu, Alex Orphanos, Tim Shaffer, Andrew Withrow
Project: Mechanical, Power, and Thermal Subsystem Design for a CubeSat
Advisor: Professor John Blandino

WPI Students participate in workshop to build, test and fly instrument payload into space

Two students in WPI's Aerospace Engineering Program, Elizabeth Dawson (BS, 2012) and Andrew Bigelow (BS, 2011) along with Prof. John Blandino, participated in the "RockOn 2011" workshop held at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia,  June 18 – 23.  The workshop, organized by the Colorado Space Grant Consortium in collaboration with NASA, provided students and faculty with an opportunity to work in teams of three to build, program, test, and fly an instrument payload on a sounding rocket. The WPI team was among 27 participants from eleven universities participating in the program this year.  Participation by WPI in the workshop was made possible through the generous support of the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium.

Over the first three days of the workshop, the teams built an instrument package which included a pressure sensor, temperature sensor, three-axis accelerometer, and Geiger counter. Students programmed, tested, and calibrated the instrument package and then worked alongside NASA technicians to integrate the instruments into the payload section of the rocket.  On the last day of the workshop, students were able to view the launch of the Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rocket from the Wallops Island launch facility.  This rocket is one of several used by NASA for sub-orbital research and has a maximum altitude of 150 to 200 km (93 to 124 miles). The instrument packages were retrieved later that day from the Atlantic Ocean by NASA personnel and returned to Wallops for de-integration.  The WPI students were then able to successfully download and inspect flight data from their instruments, all of which worked as planned. 

Below are links to two videos of the launch:

http://spacegrant.colorado.edu/rockon/2011/RockOn_2011%20Videos/QuickLook-CS8.mp4

http://spacegrant.colorado.edu/rockon/2011/RockOn_2011%20Videos/RockON%21%2023Jun%202011.wmv

Team of Students from WPI Aerospace Program wins second place in the team category at the 2010 AIAA Region I-NE Student Conference

On April 23 and 24, Boston University hosted the 2010 Region I-NE Student Conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This conference, hosted annually by one of the regional universities with active AIAA chapters, showcased work by students throughout the Northeast and provided an opportunity for students interested in aerospace to exchange ideas with each other and meet professionals from industry. Cash prizes were awarded by the AIAA for first, second, and third place winners in the categories of Undergraduate, Masters, and Team papers. The competition was supported by oral presentation and technical paper judges from the professional aerospace engineering community throughout New England.

A team of six WPI students won second place for their project titled: "The Design and Construction of a Supersonic Wind Tunnel."  This project involved the design, fabrication, and construction of an indraft type supersonic wind tunnel with adjustable throat and diffuser contours. The work was part of an Aerospace MQP project and the wind tunnel will be used for teaching demonstrations and research. This MQP team also received the Provost Award in Aerospace Engineering at WPI. Team members were Kelly Butler, David Cancel, Brian Early, Stacey Morin, Evan Morrison and Michael Sangenario. The project was advised by Professors John Blandino and Simon Evans.

Other winners in the Team category were "Design and Analysis of RC Aircraft Utilizing Hybrid Propulsion System"  by a team from Daniel Webster College (First Place) and "Validating Waste Collection System Hardware Developed for the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program Aboard a Parabolic Research Flight" by a team from MIT (Third Place).

WPI Aerospace Program Highlighted in Worcester Telegram

Nikolaos Gatsonis, Director of the Aerospace Engineering Program, and John Blandino, Associate Professor, are quoted in an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette on July 20, 2009, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  Read the front page story, which highlights the Aerospace Engineering Program, here.

2009 AIAA Region I-NE Student Conference at WPI

On March 27 and 28, WPI hosted the 2009 Region I-NE Student Conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This conference, hosted annually by one of the regional universities with active AIAA chapters, showcased work by students throughout the Northeast and provided an opportunity for students interested in aerospace to exchange ideas with each other and meet professionals from industry. Cash prizes were awarded by the AIAA for first, second, and third place winners in the categories of Undergraduate, Masters, and Team papers. The competition was supported by four oral presentation judges and seventeen technical paper judges from industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

This year's conference included seventeen presentations from Clarkson, Cornell, Syracuse Universities, The New Jersey Institute of Technology and WPI. The meeting was kicked off on Friday with a welcome address from Prof. Art Heinricher, WPI Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and concluded on Saturday with an awards banquet. The keynote speaker was Dr. Al Sacco, a 1995 mission specialist on the space shuttle Columbia (STS-73) and former WPI professor. Of the nine prizes awarded, WPI student groups won second and third place in the team category. The two winning projects from WPI were: "Design Optimization of a Quad-Rotor Capable of Autonomous Flight," advised by Prof. Demetriou, and "Design of Shape-Transforming Canopies for Parachutes," advised by Prof. Olinger. This latter project was performed in collaboration with the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, MA. Both of these projects were Aerospace MQPs this year. To see photos from the conference, please view this photo gallery or this photo album

NASA and NIA Announce Moon Design Team Competitors

NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) announced on 2/26/2009 the Moon Design Team Competitors.  The WPI undergraduate team led by Professor Blandino is one of the ten teams selected.  These undergraduate teams will compete against each other at the 2009 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage (2009 RASC-AL) to be held in Cocoa Beach, Fla., June 1-4. For details visit RASCAL or Earthtimes.

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Last modified: April 26, 2012 14:45:27