FROM THE INSTITUTE
The debate over right to repair in the defense sector has intensified as Congress considers sweeping changes to data access and repair rights. Efforts to improve system readiness and reduce sustainment costs are clearly essential, but emerging legislative proposals risk unintended consequences for national defense. This article outlines the core engineering, acquisition, and industrial implications of proposed mandates while highlighting opportunities to preserve innovation, security, and warfighter readiness through carefully scoped data-access policies.
Tag: From the Institute
AIAA Fellow Saric Died in April 2025
William S. Saric, Ph.D., NAE, died on 22 April 2025. Saric dedicated his academic career to 1) foundational theoretical and experimental understanding of boundary-layer instability, laminar-turbulent transition, and flow control including under flight-operational conditions, 2) establishing the standards for careful validation-quality experiments and flight research, and 3) freely educating, collaborating with, and serving the international community and the next generation of researchers.
AIAA Volunteers Bring Aerospace Careers to Life
From the Institute
Since September, AIAA has been bringing student branches together with volunteer and staff speakers to inspire the next generation of aerospace professionals in our Back to School Campaign. From the University of Maryland, College Park to San Diego State University, AIAA representatives have met with student branches across the country to share their own career journeys and answer questions about how students can map their own paths forward. The initiative reflects AIAA’s commitment to support our members as they grow from students into accomplished professionals.
Becoming a Technical Fellow Takes More Than Expertise
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Early- and mid-career engineers looking for a career boost might want to look beyond everyday problem-solving and consider becoming a technical fellow. Four Senior Technical Fellows at Lockheed Martin — experts in artificial intelligence, sensor fusion, propulsion, and directed energy — who collectively support a technical community of nearly 17,000 professionals, discussed what it takes to become a Technical Fellow during a Hub session at AIAA AVIATION Forum and ASCEND in July.
AIAA Survey: Forecast of Emerging Aerospace Technologies
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA is working with BryceTech to produce the AIAA 2026 Forecast of Emerging Aerospace Technologies, a strategic assessment of the innovations that will define the aerospace landscape over the next two decades. This forecast will explore technologies driving future competitiveness, national capability, and societal impact. As a member of the AIAA community, your expert perspective will provide valuable insights into these technology trends. Please take a moment to fill out the emerging technology trends survey.
2025 AIAA Best Professional and Student Papers
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA technical committees (TCs) and integration and outreach committees (IOCs) have selected the best professional and student technical papers presented at recent AIAA forums. With a standard award criteria and selection process from the respective committees, the following technical papers were selected as the “best,” and thereby were presented with a Certificate of Merit. The papers can be found online at the AIAA Aerospace Research Central (arc.aiaa.org), marked as “Best Paper.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)
AI Shifts the Paradigm of Aerospace Structural Modeling
From the Institute
Artificial intelligence (AI) can and should be a practical partner in changing the way aerospace structural modeling is accomplished, remarked Wenbin Yu. While physics-based models remain essential, AI can accelerate computation, fill knowledge gaps, integrate workflows, and make advanced simulation tools accessible to more engineers, he added, describing this new paradigm in detail during an AIAA JournalKeynote Seminar Series webinar.
ISS Above and Beyond – 4K Earth Views
Toronto Metropolitan University Student Branch: Building a Professional Community
Washington 101 for the Next Generation of Aerospace Innovators
FROM THE INSTITUTE
As commercial spaceflight expands and small satellites reshape the space economy, one reality remains unchanged: policy discussed in Washington, DC, matters. This was AIAA’s Director of Public Policy & Government Relations Ryan Cooperman’s core message at the SmallSat Education Conference at NASA Kennedy Space Center, where he joined over 700 students and educators passionate about space. He offered a crash course on the U.S. legislative process in which he discussed how policy is made, who shapes it, and why it matters to the future of aerospace.
Full Story (Aerospace America)