Author: aiaaorg

AIAA Announces 2025 International Student Conference Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 22, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2025 International Student Conference winners in partnership with the AIAA Foundation. During the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum, 20 technical paper first-place finalists from all seven 2024 AIAA Regional Student Conferences and the PEGASUS – Europe Conference presented their research papers related to aeronautics and astronautics.

“Congratulations to these exceptional students – our future leaders in aerospace. These bright minds are today’s up-and-coming innovators. Their fresh perspectives and critical thinking are working to solve current technical challenges. They will help shape the aerospace landscape for decades to come,” said Laura McGill, chair, AIAA Foundation. “The AIAA Foundation takes great pride in nurturing their development through initiatives like the International Student Conference.”

This event is invitation-only, contained within the annual AIAA SciTech Forum, where first-place winners from each of the previous year’s AIAA Regional Student Conferences present their winning papers. They are judged by a panel of AIAA professional members in the undergraduate, master’s, and team categories. AIAA Foundation awards a $1,000 cash prize to each category’s first-place winner. All participants’ papers are published as part of the AIAA SciTech Forum proceedings and become part of the enduring aerospace industry technical archive found in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central (ARC).

2025 Aiaa International Student Conference Winners Group
2025 AIAA International Student Conference participants.  Credit: AIAA–©

2025 International Student Conference Winners

Undergraduate Category:
1st Place: “Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Propeller Configuration, Motor Noise, and Sound Reflection on Sound Pressure Level” by Olivia Hilburn, United States Air Force Academy

Master’s Category
1st Place: “Performance Characteristics of a Low-Cost Self-Contained Pressure Data Acquisition System” by Nathan Eller, California State Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Team Category
1st Place: “Lessons Learned from the Launch of a Student-Built LOX/Jet-A Sounding Rocket” by Callum MacDonald, Rithvik Nagarajan, Ethan Heyns, Braden Anderson, Michael Krause, Varun Natarajan, Anthony Otlowski, and Tristan Terry, Georgia Institute of Technology

Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804.397.5270 cell
Click images to see larger versions.

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

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Boeing Resumes 777X Test Flights

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Video

A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded shortly after launching on its seventh test flight.
(Brut India; YouTube)

AIAA Statement on Blue Origin New Glenn Test Flight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 16, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) issued the following statement from AIAA CEO Clay Mowry:

“Congratulations to the Blue Origin team! Today’s New Glenn test flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station marks a pivotal moment in heavy-lift reusable launch vehicle development. The team has made tremendous technical progress reaching orbit on this first attempt. They will learn a lot from today’s test flight and will be able to apply the lessons learned from the engineering data gathered to advance the development of the New Glenn system.

It’s the most exciting time in aerospace in my 30-year career. We’re experiencing a space renaissance with new launch capabilities enabling new exciting missions. New Glenn is unmatched with its heavy-lift volume in its large payload fairing, enabling freedom of design for satellite operators, customers, and government space agencies.

This is an extraordinary moment as we witness the birth of the reusable launch industry, because reusability is the future of launch. As the newest heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn is introducing competition to the launch market, helping accelerate the growing space economy by reducing costs, expanding access to space, and helping return us to the moon and on to Mars. Through such bold steps, we’ll see a future where living and working in space becomes routine.

As a Corporate Member of AIAA, Blue Origin exemplifies the innovation driving our community forward. We commend New Glenn program leaders Jarrett Jones and Mark Featherstone and the countless industry professionals who have designed, built, and tested this new launch system, which brings us closer to a future of sustained human presence beyond Earth. You are shaping the future of aerospace.”

Media contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.