Events Category: Section

East Coast Space Settlement Design Competition

2026 East Coast Space Settlement Design Competition High School students join 25-person teams that function as mock aerospace companies. Guided by mentors from the space industry, each team responds to a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) by developing and presenting a comprehensive 30-minute design proposal to a panel of judges with real-world engineering experience. The top-scoring team earns the opportunity to advance to the International Finals held at the Disney & the Kennedy Space Center, where they’ll compete with winners from around the globe. Last year the East Coast Students were on the winning international team!

High School Freshmen – Senior: Bring your pen, notebook, Chromebook and charger.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included.

Check-In Breakfast: 7:15 – 8:00 a.m. ET
Closing Ceremony: 8:30 – 9:00 p.m. ET

Registration Fee:

  • $20
  • Scholarships are available

Learn More and RSVP

Hosted by
Southern New Jersey Section 400

Engineer’s Week: Networking Event

Indiana Section Joint Societies (SAE, AIAA, IEEE Central Indiana & Women in Engineering) Annual Engineers’ Week Networking Dinner

Qrcode Indiana 2026engweekFor Engineer’s Week, AIAA, IEEE, and SAE are coming together for a meet and greet networking event at Centerpoint Brewery!

Cost:

  • Member of SAE, AIAA, or IEEE:  $10
  • Non-Member: $15
  • Students: FREE

Learn More

21st Annual AIAA Southern California Aerospace Systems and Technology (ASAT) Conference

Registration Not Yet Open Learn More

The objective of the AIAA Southern California Aerospace Systems and Technology (SoCal ASAT) Conference is to bring together seasoned and new engineers, researchers, leaders, managers, academia and students, and provide a forum to exchange new ideas, review achievements, and chart a new course for aerospace in the local area. The AIAA Orange County and San Gabriel Valley Sections will highlight their activities during the past year during the included luncheon. Members, as well as non-members, are welcome.

Sponsored by the Orange County and San Gabriel Valley Sections of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Event Theme

Southern California has had a rich history of leadership and innovation in the aerospace industry. Many aircraft, spacecraft, missile, and space exploration programs were conceived and executed here within a several mile radius of each other. The amount of talent, experience, and expertise that resides in the area is immeasurable. However, the nature, landscape, and focus of the local aerospace industry are rapidly changing. The objective of the AIAA Southern California Aerospace Systems and Technology (SoCal ASAT) Conference is to bring together seasoned and new engineers, researchers, leaders, managers, academia, and students and provide a forum to exchange new ideas, review achievements, and chart a new course for aerospace in the local area. Come share your expertise and insights with other local professionals and tap this unprecedented resource.

Dates to Remember
  • Friday, February 6th, 2026 – Intent-to-Present Deadline
  • Friday, February 13th, 2026 – Notification of Acceptance for Presentation
  • Monday March 16th, 2026 – Registration Opens
  • Saturday, April 11th, 2026 – Electronic Copy of Presentations Due
  • Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 – Registration Deadline
  • Saturday, April 25th, 2026 – ASAT Conference

The CAPSTONE Mission and the Future of Spacecraft Navigation & Autonomy

Register Now

Presented By: AIAA Utah Section

Spacecraft orbits seemingly trace out beautiful conic shapes in space, but designing these trajectories is only half of the story; knowing where and when a spacecraft is, and how fast it’s moving, is the art and science of spacecraft navigation. Dr. Matthew Givens, a senior space navigation engineer at Advanced Space LLC, will share historical and technical insights from this field as well as some perilous stories from the journey of his company’s flagship space mission, the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE), which launched in 2022 and has been orbiting in a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) near the Moon ever since. CAPSTONE has been a testbed for several autonomous navigation and communication technologies and, in partnership with NASA, has pioneered operations and station-keeping strategies in NRHO for future Lunar Gateway space station.

How do we navigate spacecraft? What challenges are there for future human colonization of the Moon? What technologies are being developed to address these challenges? These and other questions will be the subject of this presentation for the AIAA Utah Section.

About the Speaker: Dr. Matthew Givens
Matthew Givens graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah in 2017. He then completed advanced degrees in aerospace engineering from Utah State University (M.S. 2019) and the University of Colorado Boulder (Ph.D. 2023) before joining the navigation team at Advanced Space. His expertise is in satellite orbit determination, cislunar astrodynamics, and computer vision. He also recently taught a new graduate course at the University of Utah, ME EN 6560 – Introduction to Astrodynamics, in the spring of 2025.

AIAA Utah Section
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the largest professional society for aeronautical and astronautical engineering professionals in the world. The Utah Section seeks to connect, engage, and recognize the best and brightest aerospace engineers across the Beehive State.

Other collaborative partners for this talk include Utah Sections of ASME, IEEE, INCOSE, and the University of Utah Department of Mechanical Engineering.

2025 AIAA Young Professionals, Students, and Educators (YPSE) Conference

The AIAA Mid-Atlantic Section is organizing the AIAA Young Professionals, Students, and Educators (YPSE) Conference, to be held 21 November. The conference will be held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Kossiakoff Center.
This is an excellent opportunity to share your work with the aerospace community and learn more about the innovative work of fellow aerospace enthusiasts! You do not need to be a member of the Mid-Atlantic Section to participate!
Registration closes: 19 November 2025 

For more information about the conference, please visit aiaaypse.com. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact us at [email protected].

STEM Knight

STEM Knight brings students, families, and community partners together for an evening of exploration and discovery! Volunteering deadline due 11/12th to [email protected].

There will be:

  • Paper Airplane Competition
  • Biplane Crafting
  • Sharing Aerospace History

RSVP/Register

AIAA Indiana Heritage Trust Tour

Over 25 aircraft engines and large scale models of aircraft are on display – representing 100 years of technology. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust is providing a tour to AIAA-Indiana of this historic collection of aerospace artifacts. Parking Available but carpool recommended.

RSVP or Register

2026 Region VI Student Conference

Submit an Abstract  Student Conference Rules 

Conference Host: California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA

Take part in AIAA’s Regional Student Conference by presenting your research in a formal technical meeting, exchange ideas, and discuss programs with students from other universities in your region.

Please note: A high school or university student in good standing at their institution who is also an AIAA student member is eligible to submit a paper to the Regional Student Conference. The submitting and presenting author(s) must be AIAA student members. Any student may attend the Regional Student Conference but may be subjected to a higher registration fee if they are not AIAA members. Please click here for more information to join as an AIAA Student Member.

You must be attending a high school/college/university in Region VI to participate in the Region VI Student Conference. Students can petition to present at a conference outside their university’s region by emailing [email protected].

Region VI includes Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. Additionally, it includes the Canadian provinces of Yukon and British Columbia.

Cash prizes are awarded for first, second, and third place winners for each category.

Refer to the Student Conferences webpage for conference rules and FAQs.

2026 Region V Student Conference

 Student Conference Rules 

Conference Host: Iowa State University, Howe Hall & Sukup Hall, Ames, IA
Conference Dates: 26–27 March 2026

Take part in AIAA’s Regional Student Conference by presenting your research in a formal technical meeting, exchange ideas, and discuss programs with students from other universities in your region.

Please note: A high school or university student in good standing at their institution who is also an AIAA student member is eligible to submit a paper to the Regional Student Conference. The submitting and presenting author(s) must be AIAA student members. Any student may attend the Regional Student Conference but may be subjected to a higher registration fee if they are not AIAA members. Please click here for more information to join as an AIAA Student Member.

You must be attending a high school/college/university in Region V to participate in the Region V Student Conference. Students can petition to present at a conference outside their university’s region by emailing [email protected].

Region V includes Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Additionally, it includes the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Cash prizes are awarded for first, second, and third place winners for each category.