Tag: AIAA Press Release

President and Chief Executive Officer, United Launch Alliance, Salvatore T. “Tory” Bruno to Deliver Von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics at 2019 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michele McDonald
703.264.7542
[email protected]

“Vision for CisLunar Economy”

May 28, 2019 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has selected Salvatore T. “Tory” Bruno to give its 2019 von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics.

Bruno will deliver his lecture, “Vision for CisLunar Economy,” at 6:30 p.m. (EDT), August 20, at the 2019 AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum held 19-22 August 2019, at the JW Marriott, Indianapolis, IN.

Bruno, an AIAA Associate Fellow, is the president and chief executive officer for United Launch Alliance (ULA). In this role, Bruno serves as the principal strategic leader of the organization and oversees all business management and operations.

Prior to joining ULA, he served as the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Strategic and Missile Defense Systems. The business is a leading provider of ballistic missile and ballistic missile defense systems, supporting U.S. Department of Defense customers, as well as the U.K. Royal Navy and Ministry of Defence. Programs included the Navy’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM), the Air Force’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Reentry Systems, and the Missile Defense Agency’s Terminal High Area Altitude Defense (THAAD), Targets and Countermeasures and Common Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) Concept Definition. He also managed the corporation’s responsibilities in Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Management Limited, a joint venture that produces and safely maintains the U.K.’s nuclear weapons. He is a former member of the board of directors of Lockheed Martin U.K. Ltd.

Bruno joined Lockheed Martin in 1984. He previously served as vice president and general manager of FBM and ICBM, as vice president of the THAAD Missile, as vice president of Engineering, as chief engineer for Strategic Missile Programs, as program manager for FBM Rocket Propulsion, and in engineering positions involving design and analysis for control systems of rockets and hypersonic reentry vehicles. He holds several patents.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, California, and has completed graduate courses and management programs at Harvard University, Santa Clara University, the Wye River Institute, San Jose State University, and the Defense Acquisition University.

Bruno is serving as a member of the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group. In addition, he is a companion of the Naval Order of the United States, a member of the Navy League, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. He served on the National Blue Ribbon Panel for Bettering Engineering & Science Education and as Chairman of the Diversity Council of Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

He is the author of two books that explore the organization of the medieval Knights Templar from the perspective of modern business management: Templar Organization: The Management of Warrior Monasticism and Templar Incorporated. He is a recipient of the Order of Merit of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem.

The von Kármán Lectureship in Astronautics honors an individual who has performed notably and distinguished themselves technically in the field of astronautics, and is named in honor of Theodore von Kármán, a world-famous authority on aerospace sciences. Please visit AIAA’s Honors and Awards Program webpage for more information.

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 88 countries, and 95 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, aiaa.org, or follow us on Twitter @AIAA.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
12700 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 200, Reston, VA 20191-5807
Phone: 703.264.7558 Fax: 703.264.7551 aiaa.org

AIAA Announces 2025 Regional Student Conference Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the winners of six of the 2025 Regional Student Conferences. The first-place university student winners in each of the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and team categories (listed below) receive cash prizes.

Record-breaking crowds of over 1,200 students and professionals attended across all six of the recent conferences. This year marks the first regional student conference held in Canada. The 355 student papers presented will be published by AIAA and available on Aerospace Research Center (ARC) later this year.

“We’re excited to see our university student members gaining real-life experiences,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry. “For many students, these conferences are their first opportunity to formally present their research and receive valuable feedback from industry professionals. Their creativity and passion for aerospace was on full display. After hearing several presentations, I came away with a renewed enthusiasm for our community—the future of aerospace is bright indeed.”

“We’re grateful to the local aerospace industry and universities in the conference cities for hosting tours and sponsoring the events. The dedication from the many local AIAA section volunteers helps make these conferences a resounding success,” Mowry added.

AIAA holds conferences in each region for university student members at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and in some cases high schoolers. The AIAA Foundation funds the regional student conferences, in addition to contributions from many other regional-level sponsors.

Region I Winners

Undergraduate Category

First Place: “Design and Analysis of a Self-Propelled Nanosatellite for a Mission Beyond Low Earth Orbit,” Zoë Jaeger-Letts and Jakub Glowacki, Concordia University (Montreal, Canada)
Second Place: “Structural Analysis and Testing of a Student-Designed UAV Wing,” Jack Snyder and Nick Tepylo, Clarkson University (Potsdam, NY)
Third Place: “Visual Exploration with UAVs: Solving the Next-Best-View Problem with Limited A Priori Information,” Coleman Henner, Pennsylvania State University (State College, PA)

Graduate Category

First Place: “Advancing Space Situational Awareness: Using Multispectral Imaging for Space Object Observation,” Lovejivan Sidhu and Gupreet Singh, York University (Toronto, Canada)
Second Place: “IRMA: New Era for Interstellar Travel,” Christina Decker and Felix May, University at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)
Third Place: “Aircraft Trim Condition Detection Using Flight Test Data and Interval Analysis,” Mouhamadou Wade, École de Technologie Supérieure (Montreal, Canada)

Team Category

First Place: “Design of Morph Wings with Tunable Properties for Ultralight Aircraft,” Serena Dalo, Emre Danabasoglu, Demi Davis, Benjamin France, Fiona Leitner, Maxwell Maria, and James Watson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
Second Place: “Aerodynamic Performance Enhancement of Co-Flow Jet Airfoil with Metamorphic Wing Mechanism,” Rawsen Mitchell, Andrew Leonard, Eric Doraci, and Haifa El-Sadi, Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston, MA)
Third Place: “Design of a CubeSat Radio Telescope Constellation,” Zevulun Lieberman, Sjoerd Huitema, Mary Laurens, Aquil-li Rodriguez Plassa, and Mark Russo, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)

Region II Winners

Undergraduate Category

First Place: “Experimental Characterization of a Quadrotor’s Response Air Vortex Cannon,” Kyle VanHorn, University of North Carolina Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)
Second Place: “Development of a Student-Built LOX/Jet-A Coaxial Swirl Injector,” Dario Zaccagnino, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Third Place: “Design and Fabrication of an EDS-Enabled Brush Prototype for Lunar Dust Mitigation,” Nishant Sood and Julie Linsey, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)

Graduate Category

First Place: “Evolution of the Biderectional Vortex in a Capped Ellipsoidal Cyclonic Rocket Engine,” Patrick Eid and Joseph Majdalani, Auburn University (Auburn, AL)
Second Place: “On the Multipole Vortex (MpV) Motion in a Circular-Port Hybrid Rocket Engine,” Mitchell Sisk and Joseph Majdalani, Auburn University (Auburn, AL)
Third Place: “Star Elimination as a Means of Resident Space Object Identification for Space Situational Awareness,” Evan Pavetto-Stewart and Thomas Alan Lovell, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL)

Undergraduate Team Category

First Place: “STARGATE: An Undergraduate Experimental Gridded Ion Thruster Student Research Project,” Claude Blue, Peter Summers, Jeffrey King, and Themistoklis Chronis, University of Alabama Huntsville (Huntsville, AL)
Second Place: “Development of a High-Performance Avionics System for Real-Time Guidance and Control in High-Power Vehicles,” Cheng Liu, Mohammed Abdeen, and Kanav Chugh, Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Third Place: “Design and Analysis of Axial Turbine Power Extraction from a Small-Scale Rotating Detonation Rocket Combustor,” Corey Thunes, Donovan Ngum, Ellie Murray, Jose Barbeito, Lucas Nicol, Rodrigo Dacosta, Trevor Larsen and James Braun, North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)

Outstanding Student Branch Category

First Place: Auburn University (Auburn, AL)
Second Place: Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Third Place: University of Tennessee Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

Open Topic Category

First Place: “Advancing Laser Communication for Mars Orbital Missions,” Om Acharya, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL)
Second Place: “The Orbiter: Pushing the Boundaries of Amateur Rocketry,” Yash Malik, Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL)
Third Place: “A Review of Hypersonic Vehicle Engine Optimization,” Nicholas Pisani and Peter Waszkowski, Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL)

Region III Winners

Undergraduate Category

First Place: “Velocity Characterization of a Newly Commissioned Hypersonic Ludwieg Tube Using FLEET,” Rowan Quintero, University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Second Place: “Free-Flight Testing of Ogive Flare Geometry in Hypersonic Wind Tunnel,” Ryan Jones, University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
Third Place: “Continued Development and Validation of an Exoskeleton Focused Immersive Teleoperation Interface,” Romeo Perlstein, University of Maryland (College Park, MD)

Graduate Category

First Place: “Multi-Sensor Based Adaptive Fusion Scheme for Position Estimation of Multirotor UAV Systems in GPS-Denied Environments,” Luke Busse, University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH)
Second Place: “Cascading Delay Mitigation with Quadratic Bezier Curve Trajectory Planning,” Michael Variny, Ohio University (Athens, OH)
Third Place: “Optimization of Thrust Vector Direction for Direct Measurement Uncertainty Minimization,” Adam Jones, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

Team Category

First Place: “Design and Implementation of a High-Powered Rocket to Investigate Flight Performance and Fin Flutter During Transonic Flight,” Sam Zieba, Cesar Martinez, Ian James, Tari Himelhoch, and Cole Christopherson, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Milwaukee, WI)
Second Place: “Mars Autonomous Resupply Constellation (MARC), Raymond Bertke,” Hayden Brown, Nicholas Gomori, and Jake Ferris, Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
Third Place: “Design and Manufacturing of FANG (Fabric ANchoring Gadget) for Fabric Repair on the International Space Station,” Zoe Surles, Saanvi Kunisetty, Lillian Hunt, Gabriela Zabiegaj, Ryan Smith, Tiana Foreman, Casimir Palowski, Taranpreet Singh, Alana Falter, Denver Haslett, Andrew Jace Bernando, Kate Pactol, Parker Lenkaitis, Jennifer Ren, Emma Held, and Julia Kalil, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Urbana-Champaign, IL)

Region IV Winners

Undergraduate Category

First Place: “Efficiency of Bio-Inspired Blades for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines,” Smruthi Ahashidhar and Kiran Bhaganagar, University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, TX)
Second Place: “Development of a Bimodal Ammonium Perchlorate Cast Propellant for 54-mm and 76-mm Solid Rockets,” Alex Earnhart and Jacob Robinson, Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK)
Third Place: “Frequency Response of Fast-Responsive Pressure-Sensitive Paint, Andrew Cervantes and Alexandria Lopez-Boor,” University of Texas at San Antonio, (San Antonio, TX)

Graduate Category

First Place: “Tailoring Metal Particle Deposition on Non-conductive Woven Fabrics for Multifunctional Applications using an Electroplating Process,” Isaac Carney and Isaac Williams, Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK)
Second Place: “Development of a Micro-Turbojet Engine Control Unit for Component Level Efficiencies Monitoring,” Zachary Wattenbarger and Kurt Rouser, Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK)
Third Place: “An Analytical Model for Thin Film Heat-Transfer Gauges,” Emirhan Bayir, University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, TX)

Team Category

First Place: “Optimization of Wheel Design for NASA TSGC Lunar Personal Electric Vehicle (LPEV): A Mechanical Engineering Approach,” Akash Musale, Swaid Alrashed, Easton Duplichan, Silas Hill, and Nourouddin Sharifi, Tarleton State University (Stephenville, TX)
Second Place: “Application of Neuromorphic Attitude Control to High-Powered Rockets,” Daniel Bluedorn, Kaiden Kiracofe, Brian Davis, Kimberly Perez, and Stefan Fountain, New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM)
Third Place: “Development of a 2-Dimensional, Variable-Area Nozzle for Small Unmanned Aircraft Micro-Turbojets,” Noah Greeson, Andrew Knotts, Sue Ellyn Corbett, Alexandra Boyko, Ryan Berzas, Alexandra Boyko, Tyler Rogalski, and Kurt Rouser, Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK)

Region V Winners

Undergraduate Category

First Place: “Modeling Trajectory and Attitude to Optimize Baffle Design for the Optical Navigation System of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt,” Christopher Michael O’Neill Jr., University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO)
Second Place: “Predictive Station Keeping of Areostationary Satellites Using Natural Motion Trajectories,” Nathan Gall and Ryan Caverly, University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
Third Place: “Machine Learning Optimization of Model Following Control for Resilient Microburst Attenuation on Final Approach,” Nathan Aldridge and Samuel Stanton, United States Air Force Academy (Air Force Academy, CO)

Graduate Category

First Place: “Long Short-Term Memory Networks to Improve Aerodynamic Coefficient Estimation for Aerocapture,” Dominic Rudakevych and Stephen Becker, University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO)
Second Place: “Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Trajectory Design Using Constrained Energy Maneuverability,” Sam Jaeger and Maziar Hemati, University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
Third Place: “Human Spaceflight Graduate Projects: Recommendations for Project-Based Aerospace Systems Engineering,” Lynnette Wilde and Lynzee Hogger, University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO)

Undergraduate Team Category

First Place: “Countering Balance Impairments in Microgravity and Earth Environments Using a Reactive Balance System,” Sweta Alla, Maya Mital, and Rishab Pally, University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO)
Second Place: “Sound of Crickets: Design of Experimental System for Analysis of the Effects of Rocket Launch on Acheta domestitcus Cricket Eggs,” Anna Daetz, Bryson Chittum, Aaron Kerber, and William Kilcrease, University of Colorado Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs, CO)
Third Place: “Aerodynamic Stability for Optimal CubeSat Drag Sail Operations,” Adrian Bryant, Polly Fitton, Tyler Renken, Shane Billingsley, University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO)

Region VI Winners

High School Category

First Place: “A Novel Low-Cost Zero Mean-Flow Chamber Design and Physics-Informed Neural Network for Astrophysical and Environmental Turbulence Applications,” Aiden Kwon, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (Rolling Hills Estates, CA)
Second Place: “A Study of Toroidal Propellers with Comparison to Traditional Propellers,” Bingxuan Cheng, Trabuco Hills High School (Mission Viejo, CA)
Third Place: “Taming the Oblique Wing: Improving Fuel Efficiency by Developing and Flight Testing an Oblique Wing Aircraft Utilizing a Novel Control Method,” Kevin Shen, Olympia High School (Olympia, WA)

Undergraduate Category

First Place: “Modeling a Gliding Turn-Back Maneuver (“Impossible Turn”) Following an Engine Failure,” Nicholas Lototsky, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Second Place: “Computational Model of a Table Top Shock Tunnel for Hypersonic Environments,” Lindsay Feyrer and Tim Linke, University of California Davis (Davis, CA)
Third Place: “Spectroscopic Analysis of Erosion Rate from Electrode Surfaces on the ZaP-HD Device,” Elyse Lian, University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

Graduate Category

First Place: “Aerodynamic Force Characterization of a Novel Variable Amplitude Flapping Wing Robot,” Geourg Kivijian and Nandeesh Hiremath, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Second Place: “Initial Parametric Design of a Torsion Pendulum to Demonstrate Attitude Control using Microoptoelectromechanical System Control of Radiation Pressure,” Jonathan Messer, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Third Place: “Influence of Functionalized Titanium Dioxide Ligant Length on Composite Mechanical Properties,” Ian Holmes and Joseph Kalman

Undergraduate Team Category

First Place: “Design and Experimental Validation of a Gallium Field Emission Electric Propulsion Thruster,” Kylar Flynn, Gabriel Goldman, Connor Storey, and Jose Torres, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Second Place Tie: “Tensegrity Structures for Energy Absorption in Aerospace Landing and Reusable Rocket Systems,” Leire Roma Rubi, Ryan Kuo, and Brennan Birn, University of California Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
Second Place Tie: “Load Testing of a Superelastic Tire Suited for Space Exploration,” Audrey Park, Jacqueline Nguyen, Amanda Lucker, Yashvi Deliwala, University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
Third Place: “Design of a Non-Flapping Morphing Drone Inspired by the Western Gull,” by Jose Aquilera Fuentes, Jeffrey Astorga, Marco Zuloaga, Jeremy LeMaster, Adrian Corral, Jonathan Balan, Joseph Mackey de Zela, Matthew Emil Martin, Harmandeep Gill, Brianna Murphy, and Peter Bishay, California State University Northridge (Northridge, CA)

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

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 www.aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AIAA Statement on Tenth SpaceX Starship Test Flight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 27, 2025 – Reston, Va. – AIAA issued the following statement from CEO Clay Mowry:

“Congratulations to the SpaceX team on the incredible 10th test flight of Starship. Every flight pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in reusable launch systems. The onboard camera views gave us a front-row seat to witness progress on the world’s largest heavy-lift reusable space launch system.

This flight demonstrated several of Starship’s capabilities including the ability to successfully dispense test Starlink payloads. The SpaceX engineering teams have applied valuable lessons from their recent test flights and they are making progress on a number of fronts.

It’s exciting to see SpaceX breaking barriers in reusable launch! We applaud SpaceX on accelerating humanity’s journey back to the moon and onward to Mars.

AIAA salutes the thousands of SpaceX professionals whose engineering expertise and determination have made this bold step forward with Starship that is 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 www.aiaa.org or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AIAA Announces its Class of 2026 Associate Fellows

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1, 2025 – Reston, Va. – AIAA is pleased to announce its newly elected Class of 2026 Associate Fellows. The Institute will formally honor the class at the AIAA Associate Fellows Induction Ceremony and Dinner, Wednesday, 14 January 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando during AIAA SciTech Forum 2026, 12–16 January 2026, Orlando, Florida.

“Congratulations to each member of the Class of 2026 Associate Fellows,” said AIAA President Dan Hastings. “This distinguished group of professionals has performed extraordinary work and advanced the state of science and technology in aeronautics and astronautics. They exemplify a dedication to excellence in their specific technical disciplines. We are proud of their achievements as they shape the future of aerospace.”

The grade of Associate Fellow recognizes individuals “who have accomplished or been in charge of important engineering or scientific work, or who have done original work of outstanding merit, or who have otherwise made outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.” To be selected as an Associate Fellow an individual must be an AIAA Senior Member in good standing, with at least 12 years of professional experience, and be recommended by three AIAA members.

For more information on the AIAA Honors Program or AIAA Associate Fellows, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Class of 2026 AIAA Associate Fellows

Ajit Achuthan, Clarkson University
Kevin R. Anderson, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Dale C. Arney, NASA Langley Research Center
Dilmurat M. Azimov, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Damiano Baccarella, University of Tennessee
Sean Bailey, University of Kentucky
Brent W. Barbee, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Maryland, College Park
Tadas P. Bartkus, Ohio Aerospace Institute
Tahllee Baynard , Lockheed Martin Space
David R. Beering, Intelligent Designs LLC
Kevin D. Bell, The Aerospace Corporation
Mark G. Benton, Sr., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona
Reid A. Berdanier, Pennsylvania State University
Robert A. Bettinger, Air Force Institute of Technology
Natasha Bosanac, University of Colorado Boulder
Pablo C. Bueno, Southwest Research Institute
Goutam Chattopadhyay, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
John G. Clark, Lockheed Martin
Cameron W. Coates, Kennesaw State University
Richard K. Cohn, Ursa Major Technologies
Lt. Col. Christopher Coley, United States Air Force
Velibor Ćormarković, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Christopher Courtin, Electra.aero
Beni Cukurel, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology
Daniel R. Cuppoletti, University of Cincinnati
Danielle S. Curcio, RTX
Andrea Da Ronch, University of Southampton
Scott T M Dawson, Illinois Institute of Technology
Jan W. Delfs, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Edward P. DeMauro, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Benjamin Dickinson, Air Force Research Laboratory
Con J. Doolan, University of New South Wales
Christopher Brian Dreyer, Colorado School of Mines
Harold Ennulat, Software Engineering Institute
Alper Erturk, Georgia Institute of Technology
Antony D. Evans, Airbus
Nicolas Fezans, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Matthew L. Fotia, Air Force Research Laboratory
Jacob George, Metrolaser Inc.
Leslie Gertsch, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Ritesh Ghimire, United States Federal Aviation Administration
Keith D. Goodfellow, Aerojet Rocketdyne / L3Harris
Amelia D. Greig, BAE Systems Inc.
Mark Robert Grindle, Systems Enginuity
Peter Hancock, University of Central Florida
Darren John Hartl, Texas A&M University
Liam M. Healy, Naval Research Laboratory
Jesse B. Hoagg, University of Kentucky
Kristin Houston, L3Harris Technologies
Erin Hubbard, NASA Glenn Research Center
Lester A. Ingham, Honda Aircraft Company
Louise Jandura, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Elishka L. Jepson, RTX
Michael Jones, Systems Technology, Inc.
Daewon Kim, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Hyun Jung Kim, KAIST
Michael P. Kinzel, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Julie E. Kleinhenz, NASA Glenn Research Center
Ali R. Kolaini, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Ramesh Kolar, U.S. Army DEVCOM AvMC TDD-A DSE CD&A
Jarret M. Lafleur, Sandia National Laboratories / Ursa Major Technologies
Rhea P. Liem, Imperial College London
Yu Cheng Liu, Tsinghua University
Yang Liu, City College of New York
Francisco Lopez Jimenez, University of Colorado Boulder
Alejandro Lopez Ortega, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mark H. Lowenberg, University of Bristol
Christopher A. Lupp, Air Force Research Laboratory
Ou Ma, University of Cincinnati
Lori A. Magruder, University of Texas at Austin
Luca Massa, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar, Georgia Institute of Technology
Matthew McCrink, Ohio State University
Matthew McGilvray, University of Oxford
Michael D. McPartland, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Marcel Milanes, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Michael Z. Miller, Georgia Tech Research Institute
Guy Juan Montoro, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
James D. Moreland, Jr., MEI Innovative Solutions Inc.
Catalin C. Nae, INCAS – National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli”
Björn Nagel, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Douglas J. Neill, Computational Engineering Software, LLC
Linda O’Brien, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Mark Olmos, Northrop Grumman Space Systems
Michael Otte, University of Maryland, College Park
Ganesh J. Pai, KBR
Pinaki Pal, Argonne National Laboratory
Amit Pandey, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Marco Pavone, Stanford University / NVIDIA
Tanya Pemberton, The Aerospace Corporation
Daniel Plakosh, Carnegie Mellon University / Software Engineering Institute
Brent Pomeroy, NASA Langley Research Center
Savio James Poovathingal, University of Kentucky
Russell W. Powers, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division
Michael W. Renfro, University of Kentucky
Nilton O. Renno , University of Michigan
Christopher L. Reynolds, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Daniel R. Richardson, Sandia National Laboratories
James L. Rutledge, Air Force Institute of Technology
Umberto Saetti, University of Maryland, College Park
Marco Sagliano, University of Bologna
Abhishek Saha, University of California, San Diego
Gerald B. Sanders, NASA Johnson Space Center (retired)
Grady Pike Saunders, Amentum Technology, Inc.
Bryan E. Schmidt, Case Western Reserve University
Brandon Sforzo, Argonne National Laboratory
Peter J. Sharer, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Paul Sierpinski, NASA Kennedy Space Center
Rohan Sood, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Shawn S. Stephens, United States Air Force
James P. Stewart, Electra.aero
Liang Sun, Baylor University
Takao Suzuki, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Hideyuki Taguchi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Jimmy C. Tai, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jekan Thangavelautham , University of Arizona
James Chris Thomas, Southwest Research Institute
Christoph Torens, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Paul J. van Susante, Michigan Technological University
Diane C. Villanueva, The MITRE Corporation
James M. Walton, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Alan Weston, Astra
Brian S. Woodard, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Kris Zacny, Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin Company
Hossein Zare-Behtash, Emirates Aviation University
Bo Zhang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Yufei Zhang, Tsinghua University
Liwei Zhang, University of Texas at Arlington
Dianyun Zhang, Purdue University
Wenwen Zhao, Zhejiang University

AIAA 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 www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AIAA Announces 2024-2025 Section Award Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 4, 2025 – Las Vegas – AIAA announced its 2024-2025 section award winners during its Regional Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The section awards honor particularly notable achievements made by members of AIAA’s 58 sections around the world in a range of activities that help fulfill the Institute’s mission. Section awards are given annually in eight categories based on the size of each section’s membership. Each winning section receives a certificate and a cash award. The award period is 1 June 2024–31 May 2025.

“Across AIAA, local sections and student branches are where the action begins. We believe dynamic local communities are the core of AIAA member engagement. They’re essential to the Institute’s success. Congratulations to these sections and student branches for their noteworthy achievements!” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry.

The Outstanding Section Award is presented to sections based upon their overall activities and contributions through the year. The winners are:

VERY SMALL

First Place: Delaware
Second Place: Wisconsin
Third Place: Adelaide

SMALL

First Place: Illinois
Second Place (tie): Greater Philadelphia
Second Place (tie): Indiana
Third Place: Palm Beach

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego
Second Place: Tucson
Third Place: Tennessee

LARGE

First Place: Saint Louis
Second Place: North Texas
Third Place: Houston

VERY LARGE

First Place: Los Angeles
Second Place: New England
Third Place: Hampton Roads

The Communications Award is presented to sections that have developed and implemented an outstanding communications outreach program. Winning criteria include level of complexity, timeliness, and variety of methods of communications, as well as frequency, format, and content of the communication outreach. The winners are:

VERY SMALL

First Place: Delaware, Zachary Gent (Northrop Grumman Defense Systems), section chair
Second Place: Central Coast of California, Matthew Tanner (United States Space Force), secretary
Third Place: Adelaide, Michael Evans (University of South Australia), university liaison officer

SMALL

First Place: Indiana, Hannah Snyderburn (Naval Surface Warfare Center), communications officer
Second Place (tie): Michigan, Pradip Sagdeo, section chair
Second Place (tie): Greater Philadelphia, Matthew Johnson (Saker Shoprites Inc), communications officer
Third Place: Long Island, David Paris, section chair

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego, Steven Jacobson (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc), secretary
Second Place: Carolina, Will Stavanja (USTRC), vice chair, Greensboro Chapter
Third Place: Tennessee, Phillip Kreth (University of Tennessee Space Institute), section chair; Taylor Swanson (AEDC), council member

LARGE

First Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
Second Place (tie): Northern Ohio, Edmond Wong (NASA Glenn Research Center), communications officer
Second Place (tie): Saint Louis, Mario Santos (The Boeing Company), communications officer
Third Place (tie): Albuquerque, Robert Malseed, treasurer
Third Place (tie): Houston, Kendall Mares (Jacobs), University Liaison Officer

VERY LARGE

First Place: Los Angeles, Kenneth Lui (Ken’s Consulting), website editor officer
Second Place: New England, Aaryan Nagarkatti (GE Aerospace Research), social media officer; DurgeshChandel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), publicity officer
Third Place: Hampton Roads, Soumyo Dutta (NASA Langley Research Center), newsletter editor

The Membership Award is presented to sections that have supported their membership by planning and implementing effective recruitment and retention campaigns. The winners are:

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First Place: Delaware, Zachary Gent (Northrop Grumman Defense Systems), section chair
Second Place: Wisconsin, Todd Treichel (Sierra Space), section chair
Third Place: Adelaide, Patrick Neumann (Neumann Space), section chair

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First Place: Illinois, Andrew Touvannas (Woodward Inc.), honors & awards chair; David Caroll (CU Aerospace LLC), vice chair
Second Place: Indiana, Anand Nageswaran Bharath (Cummins Inc.), STEM K-12 officer
Third Place: Michigan, Pradip Sagdeo, section chair

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego, Joel Perez (Solar Turbines Inc.), regional advisory council representative
Second Place: Tucson, Dan Rouhani (Composite Construction), treasurer
Third Place: Carolina, Monika Bubacz (Boeing Company), treasurer

LARGE

First Place: Saint Louis, Alex Friedman (The Boeing Company), membership officer
Second Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
Third Place: Northern Ohio, Jonah Sachs-Westone (NASA Glenn Research Center), membership officer

VERY LARGE

First Place: Los Angeles, Sherry Stukes, membership officer
Second Place (tie): Greater Huntsville, Terri Tramel, membership officer
Second Place (tie): New England, Osa Osaretin (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), treasurer; Hiro Endo (Schenck USA Corp Test Devices by Schenck), advisor; Peter Dentch (Pratt & Whitney), STEM K-12 officer; Jimmy Wetzel(Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc.), vice chair
Third Place (tie): Dayton-Cincinnati, Caleb Barnes (AFRL/RQVA), membership officer
Third Place (tie): Hampton Roads, Richard Winski (NASA Langley Research Center), membership officer

The Public Policy Award is presented for stimulating public awareness of the needs of aerospace research and development, particularly on the part of government representatives, and for educating section members about the value of public policy activities. The winners are:

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First Place: Wisconsin, Todd Treichel (Sierra Space), section chair
Second Place: Adelaide, Patrick Neumann (Neumann Space), section chair
Third Place: Delaware, Di Ena Davis, public policy officer

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First Place: Palm Beach, Shawna Christenson (Aerospace and Innovation Academy), public policy office
Second Place: Illinois, Mordechai Levin (MasterFlight Foundation), public policy officer
Third Place: Phoenix, Aiden Bramer (Chipton-Ross), former section chair

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego, Mike Curtin, public policy officer
Second Place: Carolina, Theodoros Spanos (Boeing Company), past chair

LARGE

First Place: Houston, Christine Dubbert, program officer
Second Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
Third Place: Albuquerque, Mark Fraser (U.S Air Force), public policy office

VERY LARGE

First Place: Hampton Roads, Steven Dunn (Amentum), public policy officer
Second Place: National Capital, Michael Barton (a.i. solutions Inc), vice chair operations officer
Third Place (tie): Rocky Mountain, Lisa Luedtke (Lockheed Martin Space Systems), public policy officer
Third Place (tie): Los Angeles, Daniel Scalese (University of Southern California), public policy officer

The STEM K–12 Award is presented to sections that have developed and implemented an outstanding STEM K–12 outreach program that provides quality education resources for K–12 teachers in the STEM subject areas. The winners are:

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First Place: Delaware, Kirstin Walz (Northrop Grumman Mission Systems), STEM K-12 officer
Second Place: Wisconsin, Ruby Kleijwegt (Sierra Space), communications officer
Third Place: Central Coast of California, Thomas Stevens (Space Launch Delta 30), STEM K-12 officer

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First Place: Palm Beach, Kevin Simmons (BLUECUBE Aerospace), STEM K-12
Second Place: Illinois, Pamela Greyer (NASA Aeronautics Education Laboratory), STEM K-12 officer.
Third Place (tie): Northern New Jersey, Yin Chen (US Army ARDEC), honors and awards chair
Third Place (tie): Northwest Florida, Crystal Pasiliao (Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office), STEM K-12 officer

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego, Rich Kenney (AeroED Group), STEM K-12 officer
Second Place: Tennessee, Meghan Morris (University of Tennessee Space Institute), outreach coordinator
Third Place: Tucson, Rajka Corder (Raytheon), former STEM K-12 officer

LARGE

First Place: Saint Louis, Jackie Blumer (Greenville Jr High School), STEM K-12 officer
Second Place: Orange County, Binay Pandey, STEM K-12 officer
Third Place: Cape Canaveral, Melissa Sleeper (Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy), STEM K-12 officer

VERY LARGE

First Place: Los Angeles, Arpie Ovsepyan (Herbert Hoover High School), STEM K-12 officer
Second Place (tie): National Capital, Susan Bardenhagen, STEM K-12 officer
Second Place (tie): Hampton Roads, Karen Berger (NASA Langley Research Center), STEM K-12 officer; Franklin Turbeville (NASA Langley Research Center), young professionals officer
Third Place: Dayton-Cincinnati, Jose Camberos (Air Force Research Laboratory), STEM K-12 officer; Samuel Atchison (Air Force Institute of Technology), deputy director STEM K-12 outreach officer

The Section-Student Branch Partnership Award recognizes the most effective and innovative collaboration between professional section members and student branch members.

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First Place: Adelaide, Zehao Liu (University of Adelaide), student branch liaison
Second Place: Wisconsin, Ander Baumann (Sierra Space), young professionals officer
Third Place: Delaware, David McGrath (Northrop Grumman Defense Systems), technical officer

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First Place: Illinois, Laura Villafañe Roca (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), section chair; Matthew Brotnow, university liaison officer
Second Place: Twin Cities, Robert Halverson, university liaison officer
Third Place: Greater Philadelphia, Chris Reynolds (Lockheed Martin Space Systems), STEM K-12 officer

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego, Gary Fogel (Natural Selection Inc.), students activities officer
Second Place: Tucson, John Allen (University of Arizona), young professionals officer
Third Place: Southwest Texas, Christopher Combs (University of Texas at San Antonio), section chair

LARGE

First Place: North Texas, Mauricio Nava (University of Texas, Arlington), student branch chair of UTA; Ben Jeffery (University of Texas, Arlington), chapter chair of UTA
Second Place: Saint Louis, Joseph Richard (Boeing), university education officer
Third Place: Houston, Kendall Mares (Jacobs), STEM K-12 officer

VERY LARGE

First Place: New England, Shreyas Hegde (Pratt & Whitney), section chair; Jimmy Wetzel (Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc.), vice chair; Osa Osaretin (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), treasurer; Peter Dentch (Pratt & Whitney), STEM K-12 officer; Durgesh Chandel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), publicity officer; Nandita Hari (GE Aerospace Research), professional development officer
Second Place: Los Angeles, Ian Clavio (Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems), university education officer
Third Place: Rocky Mountain, Lynnane George (University of Colorado), outreach officer

The Young Professional Activity Award is presented for excellence in planning and executing events that encourage the participation of the Institute’s young professional members, and provide opportunities for leadership at the regional, or national level. The winners are:

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First Place: Delaware, Kirstin Walz (Northrop Grumman Mission Systems), STEM K-12 officer
Second Place: Wisconsin, Maddie Shipshock (Sierra Space), university and industry partnership officer
Third Place: Adelaide, Daniel Kilonzo (University of Adelaide), vice chair

SMALL

First Place: Palm Beach, Karl Roush (Georgia Institute of Technology), young professionals officer
Second Place: Greater Philadelphia, Jonathan Moore (Lockheed Martin Space Systems), section chair
Third Place: Indiana, Michael Nunez (Rolls-Royce Corp), STEM K-12 co-chair

MEDIUM

First Place: San Diego, Jema Matthews, young professionals officer
Second Place: Tucson, Dan Rouhani (Composite Construction), treasurer
Third Place: Antelope Valley, Isabella Villano, technical vice chair

LARGE

First Place: Saint Louis, Kyler Schaetzle (Boeing Engineering Operations & Technology), young professionals officer; Paola Diaz-Portela, co-chair young professionals
Second Place: Houston, Andrzej Jackowski (NASA Johnson Space Center), social media officer
Third Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair

VERY LARGE

First Place: Los Angeles, Luis Cuevas (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics), section chair
Second Place: New England, Shreyas Hegde (Pratt & Whitney), section chair; Jimmy Wetzel (Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc.), vice chair; Osa Osaretin (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), treasurer; Peter Dentch (Pratt & Whitney), STEM K-12 officer; Durgesh Chandel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), publicity officer; Nandita Hari (GE Aerospace Research), professional development officer
Third Place: Greater Huntsville, Bob Tramel

The Outstanding Activity Award allows the Institute to acknowledge sections that held an outstanding activity deserving of additional recognition. The winners are:

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Central Coast of California, 40th Annual AIAA Central Coast STEM Exposition. The 40th Annual Central Coast STEM Exposition, held 2–3 May 2025 at Cabrillo High School, supported 80 projects, over 140 students, and five schools participating with the aid of over 50 judges and 10 other volunteers from across Vandenberg Space Force Base. Over $1,500 in cash and plaques sponsored by local professional organizations and companies were awarded to the top scored students at the awards reception attended by over 160 students, parents, teachers, and administrators. On Saturday, 3 May, two FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams from Arroyo Grande and Santa Ynez High Schools demonstrated their current robots to attendees. Also present were members of Darth Vader’s 501st Legion in full costume regalia for photo ops. Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 Commander, was keynote speaker, and Christina Settje, Crestview Elementary School Principal, welcomed the attendees. Long-time participating teacher Karen Hamner, science teacher at La Honda STEAM Elementary School, was recognized for her decades of service to this event. A partnered team of contractors, professional organizations, school district representatives, and base personnel come together annually to make this event a success. It was a great team effort between the base and the Lompoc Unified School District!

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Sydney, Disappearance and Search for VH MDX. In collaboration with RAeS UNSW ADFA and NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue, AIAA Sydney Section held held an event to examine one of the greatest unsolved aviation mysteries in Australia. During the night of 9 August 1981, a Cessna 210 VH-MDX, on a flight to Sydney with five people on board, disappeared over the area of Barrington Tops. Forty years later, despite annual searches by NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue, the airplane and its occupants have still not been found. Glenn Horrocks, Deputy Unit Commander, NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue Unit, discussed his 30-year research efforts and years of searching for the lost airplane and its passengers. About 100 people attended in person, with another 500+ views of the recording on the section’s YouTube channel.

MEDIUM:

Tucson, Kitt Peak Observing Program with AIAA Tucson Section. On 26 October 2024, the local community and AIAA members were invited to a night under the stars at the Kitt Peak National Observatory’s Visitor Center. During this special program, hosted by AIAA Tucson, participants spent four hours gazing through several of the very large and world-renowned telescopes to view the wonders of the universe.

LARGE:

Louis, STEM in Action: Engineering the Future at the Challenger Learning Center. On 6 February 2025, the AIAA St. Louis Section partnered with the Challenger Learning Center (CLC) to provide 40 middle school students from an underrepresented rural community in Missouri with the chance to execute a hands-on simulated space mission to Mars. The CLC St. Louis site features an immersive space mission simulation environment, including a mission control room and a spacecraft, where participants must cooperate to learn and succeed together. The students and their teachers from Strain-Japan Elementary (K-8) began the event with a hands-on rocket-making activity in the afternoon. Then students were introduced to 20 AIAA St. Louis Section volunteers, including AIAA Student Members, Young Professionals, Senior Members, and Educator Associates. During a Q&A session students were able to ask real engineering students and professionals questions like, “how much money does an engineer make,” “what were your favorite subjects in school,” and “why can’t you talk about your [DoD classified] statement of work?” Next students were assigned to either a Mission Control post or Crew Module position, and with a nearly 1-to-1 volunteer-to-student ratio were able to exercise their STEM skills to execute a Mars science mission. This included the Space Weather team flagging concerns of a nearby asteroid, and the Crew Module being safely extracted from planet surface and back to the orbiting station. Following an asteroid impact near Mars surface biology and geology operations, the Mission Control and Crew Module teams were swapped so that the former team could conduct damage control and rescue operations. By the end of the event, the students had learned many lessons such as 1) what it means to be a “real” engineer; 2) why science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are important fields to pursue; 3) how to work together as a team, using STEM skills to dynamically solve problems in real time; and 4) why safety and human factors are so paramount to space travel.

VERY LARGE:

Los Angeles, Recognition: AIAA Honorary Fellow Class of 2024, Professor Azad Madni of USC. The AIAA Los Angeles Section held an event in August 2024, with the University of Southern California to recognize Class of 2024 AIAA Honorary Fellow Azad Madni. It was a great opportunity to learn more about Prof. Azad Madni’s inspiring life and career, and his great accomplishments and contributions.

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

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 www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter.

AIAA Statement on the NASA SpaceX Crew-11 Launch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 1, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) CEO Clay Mowry made the following statement:

“We congratulate the entire NASA SpaceX team on its successful Crew-11 launch to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA’s reuse of the SpaceX Falcon rocket and Dragon spacecraft continues to show us that reusability is the future of launch.

We are eager to follow the crew through its mission, demonstrating the value of scientific research conducted onboard the ISS that will help prepare us for our off-world future of human exploration of the moon and eventually on to Mars.

We applaud this mission to the ISS through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, demonstrating the collaboration between NASA and private industry to continue America’s leadership in low Earth orbit. With NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut, and a JAXA astronaut, Crew-11 continues NASA’s ongoing commitment to international cooperation – a hallmark of space exploration.

AIAA is honored to recognize the countless aerospace professionals involved in making this mission a success. We salute NASA, SpaceX, and Crew-11 for shaping the future of aerospace.”

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

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 www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AIAA and Cassyni Expand Seminar Programme Across Journals and Books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The partnership will build on the success of the AIAA Journal Seminars, to engage the global aerospace community with AI-enhanced video

RESTON, VA & LONDON — 27 October 2025 — AIAA and Cassyni are expanding their collaboration to scale AI-enhanced seminars across AIAA journals and the AIAA book series. The programme brings researchers and practitioners together around trusted AIAA content, with on-demand, citable video that is integrated into the scholarly ecosystem.

The expansion builds on the AIAA Journal (AIAAJ) Seminars—editorially curated talks featuring leaders from academia and industry. The series presents high-quality seminars spanning aeronautics and astronautics, with two tracks: one linked to published journal articles and another on emerging, potentially disruptive topics that inspire the next generation and surface research still to be done.

AIAAJ has already seen the “Cassyni Effect”: seminar engagement converting into new submissions and published articles from attendees—outcomes echoed across Cassyni partners where seminars lift downloads, citations, and submission intent.

As part of the expansion, additional AIAA journals and the AIAAJ book series will introduce author and community seminars. Every recording will be published on Cassyni with a DOI and AI-enhanced discovery features, boosting visibility and promoting year-round community engagement between AIAA conferences.

As part of the expansion, seminars will be integrated into AIAA’s editorial workflows to automate author invitations and publishing, enabling efficient roll-out across titles.

Ben Kaube, Co-founder, Cassyni, said: “By pairing AIAA’s trusted content with Cassyni’s AI-enhanced seminars—and integrating the process into editorial systems—we turn passive discovery into active participation and measurable impact.”

Michele Dominiak, Senior Vice President, Publishing and Education, AIAA, said: “This expansion gives our global community more ways to connect with AIAA content and each other—accelerating discovery, elevating author voices, and strengthening the pipeline of new, high-quality submissions.”

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

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 www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter, and Facebook.

AIAA Announces Faculty Advisor Award Recipients

November 7, 2025 – AIAA has announced six recipients of the Faculty Advisor Award, which recognizes faculty advisors at chartered AIAA Student Branches who have made outstanding contributions to their branch and to local, regional, and national activities.

“Faculty advisors are the backbone of our student branches. These six remarkable individuals don’t just advise—they mentor, advocate, and connect students to the university, AIAA, and our broader aerospace community,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry. “Their passion is igniting the next generation. They are propelling students beyond the lecture halls and labs to achieve the breakthroughs that will shape the future of aerospace.”

Mohammad Ayoubi, Santa Clara University
Danilo de Camargo Branco, Florida Institute of Technology
Wout De Backer, University of South Carolina
Michael Denn, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Mostafa Hassanalian, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Arif Malik, University of Texas at Dallas

The individuals will be recognized at an awards recognition event during AIAA SciTech Forum 2026 in Orlando, Florida, on 12 January. They also will be recognized locally by their AIAA professional sections.

AIAA has 263 student branches, with a total active membership of over 9,000 students worldwide. Student branches foster opportunities for collaboration and serve as a club for engineering students on campus. The faculty advisor plays a critical role in sustaining student branches and encouraging their growth and success.

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

About AIAA

2026 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research Awarded to Thomas C. Corke, University of Notre Dame

Lecture Set for 13 January During AIAA SciTech Forum 2026

November 17, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2026 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research is awarded to Thomas C. Corke, Clark Chair Professor of Engineering, University of Notre Dame.

Corke will deliver his lecture, “Active Drag Reduction with Net Power Savings in Turbulent Boundary Layers – Physics and Scaling,” Tuesday, 13 January, 3:30 p.m. ET, during the SciTech Forum, Orlando, Florida. Forum registration is available now. Journalists can request press credentials to cover the forum at [email protected].

Corke is the Founding Director of the Notre Dame Institute for Flow Physics and Control (FlowPAC), the third Director of the Notre Dame Hessert Laboratory for Aerospace Research, and currently the Director of the Hypersonic Systems Initiative. He is internationally recognized for his research in the areas of fluid instabilities and transition, plasma dynamics, and flow control covering a full range of flow fields and Mach numbers from incompressible to hypersonic. He is a Fellow of APS, ASME, and AIAA, and founding Chair of the new Fluid Instabilities and Transition TC. Among his many publications, he is the author of three textbooks.

Corke’s lecture examines the realization of a long-sought capability in aeronautics, namely significant turbulent boundary layer net skin friction drag reduction. Laminar flow control can be applied for skin friction reduction on wings, tails, and engines; however, for sizable transports and many other applications, significant turbulent boundary layer drag reduction has long been sought. The new approach, essentially an aerodynamic breakthrough, will utilize plasma aerodynamics to control the turbulence production processes in the boundary layer (sometimes termed “coherent structures”) that are linked to viscous drag. The essential control approach is the imposition of a small spanwise mean flow, in a very economically energetic fashion. Experiments thus far indicate excellent net drag reduction performance up to Mach 0.5, with indications of similar performance into supersonic regimes. This turbulence control/large net-drag reduction success has informed the understanding of boundary layer turbulence dynamics. Fuselage turbulent skin friction accounts for 25% of the drag on a conventional transport at cruise. It holds a much greater percentage for advanced designs with greater aspect ratios and laminar flow wings. This technology appears to be capable of reducing the turbulent skin friction of such aircraft by a net 50% amount. The lecture concludes by outlining a plan for an upcoming flight test.

The Dryden Lectureship in Research is one of the most prestigious lectureships bestowed by the Institute. Since the inaugural lecture in 1961, it has been a catalyst for sharing research advancements and knowledge. This premier lecture is named in honor of Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, a renowned aerospace leader and a director of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, as well as the first deputy administrator of NASA when the agency was created in 1958. The award emphasizes the importance of basic research in advancing aeronautics and astronautics. For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected] .

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

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 www.aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.