AIAA News

AIAA Profiles Dr. Wanda Austin By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008–2017) 17 May 2016 After its short trip to North Carolina, the spotlight felt fully recharged and refreshed and pointed its beam west this month, falling on El Segundo, California, and illuminating Dr. Wanda Austin, the President and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. Dr. Austin is

AIAA Profiles Earl H. Dowell By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008–2017) 15 April 2016 Using its short stint in Washington, DC, to recharge its batteries, this month the Spotlight felt it was up to some short travel and pointed its beam south of DC to fall on Durham, North Carolina, and the campus of Duke University,

AIAA Holds Another Successful California Aerospace Event by Steve Sidorek, AIAA Publc Policy For the fifth straight year AIAA helped plan and hold the California Aerospace Days event, which took place in Sacramento 29 February – 01 March, 2016. A joint select committee hearing, networking reception, exhibition, and several educational briefings brought together state lawmakers

AIAA Profiles Earl H. Dowell By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008–2017) 11 March 2016 Crouch will receive the 2016 AIAA Distinguished Service Award this June at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala. The award celebrates his “inspirational leadership and ceaseless efforts in promoting the public understanding of the history of AIAA and the compelling aerospace achievements

Ensuring US Leadership In Space Proposes Solutions to Challenges Facing U.S. Space Exploration and Use Initiatives By AIAA Communications A coalition of 13 space organizations today released a joint white paper, “Ensuring U.S. Leadership in Space,” at a National Press Club Newsmakers news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The work highlights

AIAA Profiles Mary Cummings By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008–2017) 18 February 2016 Seeking warmer climes than those found in the west at this time of year, the Spotlight pointed its beam south this month, falling on Durham, North Carolina, and Duke University, and illuminating Dr. Mary L. “Missy” Cummings. Cummings is a new AIAA Fellow,

This new symposium—held on 15-16 June in conjunction with AIAA AVIATION 2016—will focus on UAS-related research and development topics in order to address user needs. Participants will discover how unmanned aerial systems are catalysts for autonomy, robotics, and machine intelligence; and are changing the nature of civil and military aviation. Preliminary Agenda The Changing Face

Honored for Work on Spark Torch Ignition Systems and Building a Low-Cost Ignition Test February 12, 2016 – Reston, Va. – Robin Osborne, an AIAA Senior Member, and a senior mechanical engineer in the Combustion Devices Design and Development Branch, in the Engineering Directorate of ERC, Inc./Jacobs-ESSSA Group, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville,

AIAA is pleased to welcome the following six new corporate members:Aerion Technologies Palo Alto, CA Twitter: Aerion_Tech COMAC America Newport Beach, CA https://twitter.com/COMAC_USCareers FADEA SA Cordoba, Argentina https://twitter.com/FAdeASA Los Alamos Technical Associates (LATA) (Bill Vantine) Albuquerque, NM https://twitter.com/LATAJobs Tecplot Bellevue, WA https://twitter.com/Tecplot UAE Space Agency Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates https://twitter.com/uaespaceagency More Info (AIAA Corporate

AIAA is seeking an outstanding candidate with an international reputation to assume the responsibilities of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Air Transportation, which was originally published by the Air Traffic Control Association as Air Traffic Control Quarterly.Journal operations are transitioning to AIAA in 2016 with Vol. 24, No. 1, and a permanent editor is being

AIAA Profiles Kristen Gerzina By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008–2017) 14 January 2016 January finds the Spotlight seeking colder temperatures than here at AIAA Headquarters, so it’s pointed its beam west yet again, illuminating the state of Minnesota, and falling on Kristen Gerzina, an aeroballistician at Orbital ATK, and chair of the AIAA Twin Cities Section.

Speaker: Treggon Owens, founding partner and CEO, Aerial MOB by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA Web Editor Unmanned aerial systems – drones – soon will transform the aerospace industry and the world, and will one day be everywhere, predicted Treggon Owens, founding partner and CEO of Aerial MOB, an unmanned aerial services company. While Aerial MOB is best known

Awards Recognized Technical Achievements, Outstanding Educators, and Literary Excellence Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) recognized technical achievements and literary excellence at the AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition 2016 (AIAA SciTech 2016), January 4–8, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California. The following individuals received awards for

Panelists: Moderator: John Tracy, chief technologist, The Boeing Company; Morteza Gharib, California Institute of Technology; Dana “Keoki” Jackson, chief technology officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation; Sandy Magnus, AIAA executive director; Darryll Pines, Dean, Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland College Park; Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator, aeronautics research mission directorate, NASA; Steve Walker, deputy director, Defense

Panelists: Moderator Meredith Drosback, assistant director for education and physical sciences, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President; Edward J. Coyle, John B. Peatman distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; Kirsten Fogg, STEM engagement lead, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center; Kurt Long, aerospace engineer, Experimental Aero-Physics

Panelists: Greg Arend, development leader, Additive Manufacturing, United Launch Alliance; Robert Yancey, vice president, Aerospace and Composites, Altai Engineering Inc.; Franck Mouriaux, general manager, RUAG Schweiz Structures, AG, RUAG Space; Chauncey Wu, Structural Mechanics and Concepts Branch, NASA’s Langley Research Center; Jason Dunn, chief technology officer and co-founder, Made In Space Inc. by Hannah Godofsky, AIAA

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Robert H. Liebeck, Boeing Senior Technical Fellow, AIAA Honorary Fellow, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA Web Editor Robert H. Liebeck, senior technical fellow at Boeing, delivered the 2016 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research on the evening of Jan. 5 at the AIAA Science and Technology Forum and

Paenlists: Courtney Stadd, management advisor, Catalyst Partners LLC (moderator), Mark Albrecht, chairman of the board, US Space, LLC; Carissa Christensen, managing partner, The Tauri Group; Jacques Gansler, distinguished professor, University of Maryland; Daniel Goldin, chairman, president & CEO, Intellisis Corp.; and Timothy Persons, chief scientist, U.S. GAO. by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA Web Editor Panelists kicked off

Jim Albaugh to address “The Future of AIAA: Why Governance Matters to You” at AIAA SciTech 2016 On Monday, 4 January, at 1730 hrs PST at AIAA SciTech 2016, Jim Albaugh will give a presentation and answer questions on the proposed changes to the Institute’s constitution recommended by the Governance Working Group and endorsed by

By Madhurita Sengupta, AIAA Program Manager (2015-2017) The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is the premiere annual event of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and its partner organizations, the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). The event brings together thousands of decision makers from across all sectors of the

By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) Carsten Spooner, an apprentice at the Daimler Training School, Stuttgart, Germany, has won the 2015 Joseph Freitag Sr. Award, co-presented by Daimler and the AIAA Foundation. The school’s faculty selected Spooner for the award based on his academic achievements, which included graduating from the program a year early, and

Thank You for Your Input Recently you were invited to participate in an electronic survey to share your insights and opinion about AIAA’s magazine, Aerospace America. This is part of a major effort to better meet the needs of the field and identify enhancements to the print and digital editions of the magazine. The survey

Aviation Week will hold a webinar on Wednesday, 16 September 2015, at 1:00 p.m. EDT, to review the results of their recent Workforce Study. The three leaders of the Aviation Week 2015 Workforce Study will review key data that should be of interest to employees, including jobs, pay, and which companies are doing a great

By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, recently inducted 15 AIAA members, eight Honorary Fellows and seven Fellows, into its newly established “Hall of Honor.” Created by NASA Langley and its alumni, the Hall’s inaugural class had nineteen members and “recognizes the center’s trailblazers in air and space flight,” according

by Hannah Thoreson, AIAA Communications Pictured, left to right: Executive Director Sandy Magnus with Aviation Forum Twitter Contest winners Katelynn Orona, Ghassan Atmeh, and Roberto Palumbo. AIAA once again held contests on Twitter during this summer’s AIAA AVIATION 2015 and AIAA Propulsion & Energy 2015 forums. The goal of the contests was to spur engagement and activity related to

by Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) Tau Beta Pi has named three AIAA student members as Tau Beta Pi Scholars. Each student has received a cash award to help them with the costs of their senior year of undergraduate studies. Tau Beta Pi received 804 scholarship applications this year, and selected 258 applicants for awards.

AIAA is seeking an outstanding candidate with an international reputation to assume the responsibilities of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Propulsion and Power. JPP  is devoted to the advancement of the science and technology of aerospace propulsion and power through the dissemination of original archival papers contributing to advancements in airbreathing, electric, and advanced propulsion;

Panelists: Moderator Barbara Esker, NASA ARMD; Elizabeth Bierman, Honeywell Aerospace; Amanda Billiot, Pratt & Whitney; Jim Free, NASA Glenn Research Center; Klod Kokini, Purdue University By Hannah Godofsky, AIAA Communications A panel of university and NASA aerospace experts at the Propulsion and Energy 2015 forum traded ideas about how to improve work-life balance across the U.S.

Panelists: Moderator Mark Lewis, Science and Technology Policy Institute; Steve Gorrell, Brigham Young University; Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Carole Hedden, Aviation Week & Space Technology; Yvette Weber, U.S. Air Force/p> by Ben Iannotta, Editor-in-Chief, Aerospace America Data shows that the aerospace industry is having trouble keeping young technical talent, and panelists at the 2015 AIAA

Speaker: Micahel Tschanz, Walt Disney World® by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA Web Editor Engineers can be a great asset to creative storytelling, and model-based design and engineering are helping to reshape The Walt Disney Co. theme parks, said Michael Tschanz, director of technology and analysis with design and engineering at Walt Disney World, during “Developing Creative

Panelists: Moderator James Heidmann, NASA’s Glenn Research Center; Keith Blodgett, GE Aviation; Michael Mastaler, NASA; Richard “Dick” Scharnhost, Boeing Co.; Roy Shultz, Mira Facilities 2 Inc.; Paul Van Slooten, United Technologies Research Center By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) Government and aerospace industry experts debated the merits of computational fluid dynamics modeling and experimental fluid dynamics

Speaker: Robert Cabana, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) Long considered the nerve center of the U.S. space program, the site of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, has witnessed every manned mission the U.S. has started. With the end of the space-shuttle era in 2011, Kennedy faced

Panelists: Doug Garrand, Aerospace Testing Alliance; Michael Mastaler, NASA; Michael Holden, CUBRC; Michael McWithey, Lockheed Martin Corp.; David Schuster, NASA’s Langley Research Center; Roger Simpson, NASA’s Stennis Space Flight Center By Hannah Godofsky, AIAA Communications Wind tunnels have been a key part of the testing and validation process in aerospace for a long time. However, the

Panelists: Moderator Michael D. Griffin, Schafer Corp.; Frank Culbertson, Orbital ATK; Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Lee Monson, retired from Boeing Co. by Ben Iannotta, Editor-in-Chief, Aerospace America Why are government satellites, rockets and aircraft so darn expensive? The answer can be boiled down to a single word: Fear — fear of test failures; fear of

Panelists: Moderator Graham Warwick, Aviation Week & Space Technology; Jean Boti, Airbus Group; Douglas Juul, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Mary Beth Koelbl, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; Neil R. Garrigan, GE Aviation by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA Web Editor Whether with aircraft, space launch vehicles or missile systems platforms, the aerospace propulsion and energy sector is undergoing

Panelists: Moderator James G. Maser, Pratt & Whitney; Jean-Paul Ebanga, CFM International; Leslie J. Kovacs, United Launch Alliance; Richard “Ric” Parker, Rolls-Royce; Marc Vales, Airbus Safran Launchers; Bernard Zimmerman, Pratt & Whitney By Hannah Godofsky, AIAA Communications The global collaboration panel at the 2015 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, moderated by James G. Maser, vice president

Panelists: Moderator Rubén Del Rosario, NASA’s Glenn Research Center; Michael Armstrong, Rolls-Royce; Marty Bradley, Boeing Co.; Andrew Gibson, Empirical Systems Aerospace Inc.; Charles Lents, United Technologies Research Center; Johannes Stuhlberger, Airbus by Ben Iannotta, Editor-in-Chief, Aerospace America Creating an electric passenger plane capable of carrying more than 100 people will require persistence and an unprecedented cross-domain

Panelists: Moderator Mitchell Walker, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jonny Dyer, Skybox Imaging; Mark Lewis, Science and Technology Policy Institute, Institute of Defense Analyses; Peter Lord, Space Systems Loral; Roger Myers, Aerojet Rocketdyne; Jeff Sheehy, NASA By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) “Competition in the global space-propulsion market continues to increase as industry continues to invest in

Speaker: Christopher “Chris” Lorence, GE Aviation By Duane Hyland, AIAA Communications (2008-2017) Christopher “Chris” Lorence, general manager of engineering technologies with GE Aviation, kicked off the 2015 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum in Orlando, Florida, with a talk on the future of propulsion and energy systems. Lorence believes that eventually propulsion and energy systems on aircraft

NASA has released a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) entitled “Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System”, which solicits ground-based research proposals using an open science method to generate new scientific insights by utilizing experimental data residing in NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics (PSI) system. This online database provides investigators access to the raw and processed

Panelists: Moderator Doug Cline, Lockheed Martin Corporation; William Gropp, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Brian Mitchell,senior principl engineer, GE Global Research; and Mark Seager, chief technology officer, High Performance Computing Ecosystem by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA web editor Supercomputing has made significant contributions in aerospace engineering in recent decades, including advances in computational fluid dynamics that has fundamentally altered the way aircraft are designed. And

by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA web editor Kurt Erbacher, vice president for the G650 Aircraft Program at Gulfstream, in remarks Friday morning at the 2015 AIAA AVIATION Forum, lauded the breakthroughs offered by this fast-flying business jet. There are “well over 100 airplanes [now] in service,” Erbacher said in his keynote address. “Customers love the airplane” in

by Hannah Godofsky, AIAA communications Touching on everything from bug residue on aircraft to the economic impacts of aviation, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden said NASA is anxious to continue its research with the industry, and he singled out environmentally friendly flight as a special priority. “Any conversation about the future of aviation has to begin

Panelists: moderator Christoppher Stonehouse, senior vice president, customer service; Jack Arehart, president, MRO Services, Delta TechOps; William “Bill” Meehan, chief operating officer, Frontier Airlines Inc.; Bart Roberts, vice president, flight operations, JetBlue Airways; David Seymour, senior vice president, technical operations, American Airlines by Lawrence Garrett, AIAA web editor Airlines, manufacturers and maintenance providers must welcome

Nominating Period for 2015–2016 AIAA Board of Directors Now Open The 2015–2016 AIAA Nominating Committee will meet in early September to review nominees and select candidates to partici­pate in the Board of Directors (BoD) Election to fill the following vacancies by election in 2016: Vice President-Elect, Member Services Vice President-Elect, Technical Activities Director–Technical, Information Systems

AIAA has created a new committee on Materials (Materials CoS) that will develop industry-wide standards for component, subsystem, and system test with respect to RF breakdown risk mitigation in RF/microwave components.  This includes multipactor and ionization breakdown.  An industry-wide committee of experts in RF/microwave breakdown in spacecraft components is required to review and maintain standards. 

Special Issue on “Federated and Fractionated Satellite Systems (FSS)” The Journal of Aerospace Information Systems is devoted to the applied science and engineering of aerospace computing, information, and communication. Original archival research papers are sought that include significant scientific and technical knowledge and concepts. In particular, articles are sought which demonstrate the application of recent

Special Issue on “Computational Guidance and Control” A clear trend in the field of aerospace guidance and control has emerged in recent years in what we call “Computational Guidance and Control” (CG&C). In contrast to traditional guidance and control, CG&C has the following identifying trademarks: Guidance and control laws and controllers of fixed structures are

National Volunteer Week, taking place 12–18 April 2015, is a time of celebration and inspiration, as non-profit organizations nationwide honor the thousands of individuals who take action throughout the year to help strengthen their communities. AIAA is grateful for the contributions you make to the Institute and the global aerospace community. Whether you are active

by Hannah Godofsky, AIAA Communications The 19th annual Design, Build, Fly competition was held 10-12 April 2015 at TIMPA Airfield near Tucson, Arizona.  Sponsored in conjunction with Raytheon Missile Systems and Cessna Aircraft, the annual contest is held by AIAA in either Tucson or Wichita during alternating years.  This year’s contest welcomed over 650 students from