Come Fly With Us
The Aerospace Engineering Department at SDSU provides education and training in aerospace engineering principles and state-of-the-art practice that emphasizes problem solving, multidisciplinary team work, and ethical engineering practice. We aspire to maintain an active and high quality research program that contributes to future innovations in aerospace engineering. We collaborate with aerospace industry, U.S. national labs and professional aerospace societies to address current and emerging challenges.
Department News
SDSU hosts So Cal Fluids XVI
Drs. Gustaaf Jacobs, Xiaofeng Liu, and Qi Wang from our Aerospace Engineering department, with the help of ME, CCEE, and the Math departments, organzied this years So Cal Fluids XVI. It was held in person on Saturday, April 2023. They had a fantastic list of 94 students and post-doc speakers, which were organized into three (+1) parallel tracks from nine universities in Southern California.
For more information, please visit the website.
Spotlight in NASA newsletter
Sergio Sandoval, a PhD student (adviser: Dr. Ping Lu) with our Aerospace Engineering department, was recently chosen to be a panelist at NASA Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable (STIGUR) held in DC, where he was the only student among all the panelists. NASA has written a story about him in NASA Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships (ESIP). He is pictured above with the Space Exploration Vehicle at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
AIAA Design Build and Fly competition
The Aztec Aerospace Design, a student organization previously known as SDSU DBF, achieved the 11 place this year in the AIAA Design Build and Fly competition, which was held from April 13-16, 2023 in Tucson Arizona.
This year, 135 schools submitted proposals to be a part of the competition. The Aztec Aerospace Design placed 29th in report score, 8th place in aircraft performance score, and 11th place overall at the competition. This is the highest score San Diego State has achieved in nearly a decade.
Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship
Graduate student Thomas Ridgeway has been selected as one of the 30 student recipients nationwide to receive the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program (a Selective mentorship and internship program inspiring the next generation of commercial spaceflight leaders).
Congratulations, Thomas! You can read the article he posted to LinkedIn below:
WoAA (Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics) of SDSU at SciTech 2023
NASA Flight Opportunities Program Award
Dr. Ping Lu, Department Chair
NASA has recently selected nine space technologies for flight testing to advance innovations that addressmission needs for both the agency and the commercial space industry. Among the nine technologies and in the ranks of other awardees such Harvard University, Johns Hopkins, and Purdue University is the advanced spacecraft guidance technology developed at San Diego State University.
Dr. Ping Lu is the principal investigator: San Diego State University in San Diego, California, will test a system aiming to improve spacecraft precision landing capabilities through adaptive navigation, allowing researchers to evaluate its performance on a rocket-powered lander. This technology is planned to fly on Astrobotic’s Xodiac vehicle.
You can read the announcement with the article link below:
Aerospace Engineering Faculty Members among Top Authors in the World
Measuring the impact of authors of scholarly papers in a more comprehensive way still remains challenging. A group of researchers at Stanford University has for several years created a publicly available database of 100,000 top scientists 22 scientific fields and 176 subfields. They have analyzed a number of factors in the impact of authors and developed a composite indictor (see https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000384).
In the latest 2022 update (link), they have listed the top 2% authors in the subfield Aerospace & Aeronautics, out of a total of 49,631 authors worldwide in the subfield. Two lists are available, based on single-year (2021) and career-long impact. The Aerospace Engineering Department at SDSU is well represented in both lists:
Top 2% Aerospace Authors based on Single-Year Impact:
- Ping Lu (No. 9)
- Luciano Demasi (No. 306)
- Josef Katz (No. 465)
- Gustaaf Jacobs (No. 1053)
Top 2% Aerospace Authors based on Career-Long Impact:
- Ping Lu (No. 23)
- Luciano Demasi (No. 153)
- Josef Katz (No. 294)
Prof. Ping Lu
Prof. Luciano Demasi
Prof. Joseph Katz
Prof. Gustaaf Jacobs
Dr. Richard Woodcock Rocket Project Student Laboratory Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
San Diego State University Rocket Project celebrates ribbon cutting ceremony for the Dr. Richard Woodcock Rocket Project Student Laboratory on October 28th. This recognition is in appreciation of Dr. Woodcock's more than $1 million in support of several College of Engineering efforts. Dr. Richard W. Woodcock is considered the world's foremost educational test developer and is one of the most prolific and influential figures in the field of applied psychological assessment. He became involved with Rocket Project in 2017. Dr. Woodcock's love of adventure and space travel attracted him to Rocket Project. His first gift to Rocket Project was in 2017 for $50,000. Rocket Project had the goal to set the world record for altitude with a student designed and built liquid fueled rocket. Knowing that goal, Dr. Woodcock kept giving cash gifts that in four short years totaled $1 million. In addition to his financial giving, Dr. Woodcock is a frequent visitor to the Rocket Project lab on campus and to the rocket launch site in the Mojave Desert. With Dr. Woodcock's support, the students set the world record in February 2020 with "Lady Elizabeth”, the student-designed-built rocket named after Dr. Woodcock's late wife, Elizabeth Jackson. "In the Rocket project laboratory we are not only building up reckets, but we also build up future engineers!", quoted by rocket project faculty advisor Prof. Ahmad Bani Younes.
On Saturday, June 4, 2022, Dr. Xiaofeng Liu won the Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Education Award for 2022 and Dr. Gustaaf Jacobs won the Outstanding Contribution to Aerospace Research for 2022. Four of our Aerospace Engineering students received the Reuben H. Fleet scholarship: Kaitlin Borders (not pictured); Nfn Bhavana; Nathalia Del Callejo; and Zac Pyle. In addition, Nathalia Del Callejo, was awarded the Outstanding Contributions to the AIAA San Diego Student Chapter. Congratulations!
SDSU Undergraduate Papers to Appear at 2022 AIAA SciTech Meeting
Figure 1. SDSU undergraduate student SciTech paper authors and mentors. Front Row from left: Bradley Zelenka, Daniel Black, Madison Cicchitto, Jeremy Johnson, Roberto Marquez, Chandara Heng, Amaury Reed, Alfonso Acosta; Second Row: Ahmad Bani Younes, Ping Lu, Gary Fogel, Xiaofeng Liu, John King, Riley Jacobsen; Third Row: Evan Pruitt; Missing from the picture: Kendall Miller, Cade Walton, Thomas Ridgeway, Carl Tedesco.
In the upcoming AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) SciTech Forum (https://www.aiaa.org/SciTech), thirteen SDSU undergraduate student authors will present seven research papers in the areas of aerospace history, ground test technology, and machine learning, respectively. Out of these thirteen SDSU undergraduate students, eleven are from the Department of Aerospace Engineering.
SDSU Undergraduate Papers to Appear at 2022 AIAA SciTech Meeting
Figure 2. SDSU undergraduate student SciTech paper authors and mentors. Front Row from left: Amaury Reed, Madison Cicchitto, Alfonso Acosta, Riley Jacobsen, Roberto Marquez, Jeremy Johnson, Bradley Zelenka; Second Row: Daniel Black, Chandara Heng, John King, Xiaofeng Liu, Gary Fogel, Ping Lu, Ahmad Bani Younes; Third Row: Evan Pruitt; Missing from the picture: Kendall Miller, Cade Walton, Thomas Ridgeway, Carl Tedesco.
AIAA SciTech Forum is the largest and most influential professional meeting for aerospace research, development and technology in the world. Every year, about 5,000 individuals, including scientists, engineers, industry leaders, policy makers and students from countries around the world, come to attend the forum. Within the week-long conference, usually more than 2000 papers are presented in more than 500 technical sessions each year.
SDSU Undergraduate Papers to Appear at 2022 AIAA SciTech Meeting
Figure 4. Co-authors of the AIAA SciTech 2022 paper “An Experimental Study of the Heat Balance in a Subsonic Wind Tunnel”: (From left to right) Chandara Heng, John King, Amaury Reed, Evan Pruitt, and Xiaofeng Liu.
The 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum will be held in San Diego, California from January 3 to 7. According to AIAA, the 2022 forum will explore the science, technologies, and policies that are shaping the aerospace industry’s future and enabling sustainability.
Click on the title above for a link to the full article with additional information on the submitted papers for the forum.
Aerospace Engineering Students Working to Support Human Missions to the Moon and Mars
NASA’s Artemis program will send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon and to pave the way for human Mars missions. To make it happen, NASA is working with diverse partners in industry and academia to develop the innovative technologies. In 2021 San Diego State University won one of the seven awards by NASA’s Minority-Serving Institution Space Technology Artemis Research (M-STAR) program.
Led by Dr. Ping Lu, a professor and Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, the M-SATR project at SDSU is entitled “Propellant-Optimal Integrated Entry and Powered Descent Guidance for Human-Scale Mars Missions”. This project will develop the method and algorithms for integrated optimal entry, descent, and landing (EDL) guidance for human Mars missions with pin-point precision. This project will provide advanced tools and capability for human-scale Mars EDL missions. Furthermore, this project will enhance the knowledge and skills of the faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students in this NASA-unique research area. Concerted efforts is being made to develop and strengthen collaboration with NASA Centers for the enrichment of the research program with real-world experience, and offer and opportunities for students to benefit from first-hand interactions with NASA engineers and summer internships.
Five SDSU Aerospace Engineering students are working with Dr. Lu in this project. They are Sergio Sandoval (PhD student), Adrian Juarez (MS Student), Ryan Callan (MS student), Christopher Davami (undergraduate), and Kaylin Borders (undergraduate). All except for Ryan (who is an active-duty Space Force officer) will be doing internships at NASA field centers in summer 2022.
Team meeting in the Computational Guidance and Control Lab in Building-A (left to right: Sandoval, Juarez, Callan, Lu, Borders, and Davami)
Team working in the newly constructed Computational Guidance and Control Lab in Building-A (Callan, Davami, Juarez, Sandoval, Borders, and Lu)
Outside the newly renovated Building A (Lu, Borders, Juarez, Sandoval, Callan, and Davami)
Dr. Gustaaf Jacobs interviewed by CBS News about Jeff Bezos' recent trip to space!
Dr. Xiaofeng Liu was featured in SDSU's latest NewsCenter issue. Doctoral student, Jose Moreto and Dr. Xiaofeng Liu, built a state-of-the-art Water Tunnel. You can read more about it here (or you can click the image above): Mentorship in Action: State-of-the-Art Water Tunnel Brings ‘Phenomenal’ Possibilities
Click on the image above to read our newsletter for 2020-2021!
NAA Award for Dr. Ellen Ochoa (former SDSU graduate)
On February 2, NAA announced that Dr. Ellen Ochoa was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Katherine and Marjorie Stinson Trophy. The Stinson Trophy, which was established in 1997, honors a living person for "... an outstanding and enduring contribution to the role of women in the field of aviation, aeronautics, space, or related sciences.” Dr. Ochoa is being recognized for "... her barrier-breaking career contributions as an engineer, astronaut, first Hispanic woman in space, and former Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, in addition to her passionate advocacy for women and minorities in aeronautics, aviation, and space sciences.” NAA looks forward to presenting the Stinson Trophy to Dr. Ochoa when health and safety protocols allow. https://naa.aero/
Congratulations to Dr. Allen Plotkin!
He is a recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Faculty Award for the College of Engineering. Please take a moment to view the video below presented at the August Convocation.
SDSU Virtual Commencement
is this Saturday, May 16! COE has created a special collage message just for you!
Please click on the image to enlarge it. For more information please visit: https://commencement.sdsu.edu/
Successful Launch
The Rocket Project team successfully launched their liquid rocket Lady Elizabeth, reaching an altitude of 13,300 ft. on February 01, 2020. The parachute system deployed as designed and the rocket was recovered intact. Congratulations to the Rocket Project team! They worked for 2 1/2 years to make this launch a success.
Successful Static Hot Fire Test
The Rocket Project Club went out to the desert last weekend to static test their rocket and they had a successful burn of just over twelve seconds! This was the first successful test of the entire rocket mounted in flight conditions. They had a maximum thrust of 680 lbf and a stabilized thrust of 550 lbf. These are the results that they were hoping for which keeps them on track to launch on November 16th. The video of the burn is attached above and shows the hard work of the students in RCP. You can find the finished video here: https://youtu.be/8JXBMIkPCL8
They also tested the nosecone ejection recovery system that was previously attempted the weekend before. The test was also a success! After an initial failed attempt, the team concluded that the black powder that they had been using probably took on a lot of moisture from storing and decided to use new powder. In the video that is below, we can see the nosecone shooting off about a foot away from the upper body tube, an ideal distance for this test. For launch, the new black powder will be incorporated into the system and the hopes are high that they will have a successful launch and recovery. Videos and information provided by Marcus Reed (RPC Treasurer).
A small group of students from the Rocket Project Club went to volunteer at Berry Elementary on Wednesday, October 30, 2019. They had a very rewarding experience working with the students. The RPC taught them about rockets and introduced them to the fundamentals of what make rockets fly. Per Marcus Reed (RPC Treasurer): "It was amazing to see their faces light up as they interacted with our air compressor rocket activity when they got to see their own rocket fly!"
Welcome to the first issue of our department Newsletter! Please click on the image above to view the PDF.
Dr. Ahmad Bani-Younes spoke at a panel discussion hosted by AIAA at UCSD.
The AIAA Student Branch at UCSD hosted a NASA Artemis event on October 24, 2019 and invited our Professor Ahmad Bani-Younes as a guest panelist. The panel was about NASA's Artemis program to land on the Moon by 2024. The students were inspired by his presentation and the student chapter was grateful for his participation.
Dr. Joseph Katz, who has studied aerodynamics for more than 30 years, explains that the problem is with sensors. Newer airplanes have a safety measure built into them to reduce the problem. Please click on the title or picture above to read the full story.
As an effort to incorporate innovative pedagogical methods in improving teaching effectiveness, Prof. Xiaofeng Liu has been collaborating with Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) in producing five episodes of Aeronautical Engineering experiment series for its Science Education Database. Topics covered in the five video episodes include Hot-wire Turbulent Boundary Layer Measurement, Turbulence Sphere, Delta Wing, DC6B Aerodynamic Force Measurement, and Supersonic Flow Visualization. You can view the videos by clicking the link above or the picture.
"Bailey said the trampoline dreams that eventually took shape as Accion Systems began to solidify at San Diego State University, where she majored in aerospace engineering." -360
JDP Student Paulina Diaz Montiel Best Poster at UCSD Research Expo
Paulina Diaz Montiel received Structural Engineering Best Poster at the UCSD Research Expo on April 18, 2019.
AE Professor Allen Plotkin Receives AIAA Lifetime Achievement Award
Aerospace Engineering Faculty Dr. Allen Plotkin received an AIAA Lifetime Achievement Award. He will be recognized at the AIAA San Diego Annual Awards Banquet on May 9, 2019.
Design, Build, and Fly team participated the AIAA DBF Competition
SDSU DBF Team participated in the AIAA DBF Competition on April 11-14, 2019, led by Aerospace Engineering Faculty Dr. Xiaofeng Liu.
AE Professor Gustaaf Jacobs Receives Alumni Association Award
Aerospace Engineering Faculty Dr. Gustaaf Jacobs received the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributions to the University for 2019-2020. Dr. Jacobs will be recognized for this award at the All-University Convocation on August 22, 2019.
AAE Graduate Student Awarded Travel Grant to Present at AAS Conference
Ahmed Atallah, a Ph.D. aerospace engineering student in the Joint Doctoral Program, has won the John V. Breakwell Student Travel Award from the American Astronautical Society (AAS) Space Flight Mechanics Committee.
Alumni Reception at the AIAA SciTech Forum
The Department hosted an Alumni Reception on January 9, 2019, at the AIAA SciTech Forum in San Diego. A number of alumni, from graduates in the 1970s to 2017, came to the event. The faculty and current students of the Department were there to meet and greet the alumni
National College Resources Foundation pledged a $2 million gift to support the Rocket Project and Aerospace Engineering research
On August 8, 2018, Interim Dean Eugene Olevsky, Aerospace Department Chair Dr. Ping Lu, and Senior Director of Development Kate Carinder announced that the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF) under the direction of Dr. Theresa Price has made a $2 million pledge to support SDSU’s Aerospace program.
National College Resources Foundation donated a MOCAT to Rocket Project valued at $264,000
National College Resources Foundation donated a MOCAT to Rocket Project valued at $264,000. National College Resources Foundation donated a 32-ft Mobile Operations Central Assembly Trailer (MOCAT) to the Rocket Project.
Professor Gustaaf Jacobs – Modelling Shock Waves and Particle Interactions in High-Speed Flows
Professor Gustaaf Jacobs Modelling Shock Waves and Particle Interactions in High-Speed Flows
We are pleased to announce the 2018 Galactic Unite Borden Scholarship recipients have been determined.
We are pleased to announce the 2018 Galactic Unite Borden Scholarship recipients have been determined.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering at San Diego State University is soliciting applicants for the 2017/2018 SDSU Galactic Unite Borden scholarships.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering at San Diego State University is soliciting applicants for the 2017/2018 SDSU Galactic Unite Borden scholarships.
SDSU selected as a top university nationally for aerospace and defense industry
SDSU selected as a top university nationally for aerospace and defense industry
Successful Faculty Led Program in Germany again in Summer 2017
Successful Faculty Led Program in Germany again in Summer 2017. 17 engineering students (a full capacity of enrollment) signed up for the program.
2017-2018 SDSU Speer Aerospace Scholarship Awards Announced
2017-2018 SDSU Speer Aerospace Scholarship Awards Announced
Congratulations to the AE Class of 2018!
Congratulations to the AE Class of 2018!
AE alumnus selected to be Young Professional Liason to AIAA Board of Trustees
AE alumnus selected to be Young Professional Liason to AIAA Board of Trustees
The Aerospace Engineering Graduate Program ranked No. 37 Nationally.
The Aerospace Engineering Graduate Program ranked No. 37 Nationally.
We are pleased to announce the 2016 Galactic Unite Borden Scholarship recipients have been determined.
We are pleased to announce the 2016 Galactic Unite Borden Scholarship recipients have been determined.
Two of our students won awards at the SDSU Student Research Symposium 2017.
Two of our students won awards at the SDSU Student Research Symposium 2017.
Professor Ping Lu was a member of the team that was given the Innovation Group Achievement Award
Professor Ping Lu was a member of the team that was given the Innovation Group Achievement Award by the Director of NASA Johnson Space Center in September 2016
Professor Venkataraman was the Principal Investigator of a grant at the amount of $199,800
Professor Venkataraman was the Principal Investigator of a grant at the amount of $199,800 from the Office of Naval Research on “Engineering Uncertainty Quantification of Test Derived Model Parameters for Life Prediction of Composite Bolted Joints in an ICME Framework”.
Professor Gustaaf Jacobs received a 3-year grant totaling $1,000,000
Professor Gustaaf Jacobs received a 3-year grant totaling $1,000,000 from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research on “Simulation of Particle Laden Blast Waves with Inter-Scale Coupling and Uncertainty Quantification” (2015-2018)