Colleagues, Students, and Friends of the Department,
The start of school is always an exciting time for me. I look forward to the return of students, the beginning of classes and the smell of autumn in the air. It’s been a great year for the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (AEM) department and I look forward to another great year ahead.
Some of the highlights from the past year include: Minnesat, the University’s entry into a two-year, student-driven project aimed at creating nanosatellites, finished fifth overall at their national competition in the spring. We are extremely pleased with the results, especially since Minnesat was our first entry into the highly-competitive Nanosat competition. McKnight Land Grant Professor Demoz Gebre-Egziabher and several returning students are preparing for the next competition – Nanosat-5. Minnesota’s entry, “Goldeneye,” aims to use GPS as a type of radar to inexpensively yet accurately access target locations. Many congratulations, students and staff.
Students participating in the Reduced Gravity program elected to study a well-known but little-tested (in microgravity, at least) phenomenon: cavitation. Cavitation occurs when water quickly passes over an object (e.g., a propellor). Water vapor bubbles form, and collapse, in the wake of this machinery. The Reduced Gravity flight test is featured on page 9.
AEM and the University honored Professor Eugene E. Covert, an AEM alumnus and pioneer in aeronautical engineering who has a distinguished career in academia and service. He has been previously honored with many awards, including the prestigious Daniel Guggenheim medal. The Guggenheim medal may be the most distinguished award in aerospace, having honored the likes of Orville Wright and Charles Lindbergh in the past. More information about Mr. Covert may be found on page 12.
Several of our faculty members were recognized this year for their work. Professor Graham Candler received the 2007 AIAA Thermophysics award, one of the most prestigious in his field (see page 10). I was most honored to receive the Distinguish McKnight Professorship from the University. Professor Ellen Longmire received the Distinguished Women Scholars Award from the University. Professor Longmire was selected for the award based on her impact on her field, her international scholarly reputation, and her distinction in undergraduate and graduate education.
AEM and Akerman Hall have seen a great deal of change over the past year. In an effort to better serve our constituents, we upgraded our web site and renovated space in Akerman Hall. The updated web site is graphically more appealing, has new content offerings and is better organized than our previous web site. Remodeling of our main office and the creation of undergraduate and graduate lounges is complete. We feel it is important to provide our undergraduate and graduate students with a well-designed space to congregate, study and interact. The main office renovation improved the staff working environment, their work flow and allows us to better serve our students, faculty, alumni and visitors.
One of the goals I communicated to you last year is our intent to increase AEM’s visibility on both the local and national stage. We are making progress toward that end, as our students, programs, and outreach are receiving a large amount of press at the University and beyond. Some notable articles, like a profile of AEM alumnus Steve Cook, coverage of Minnesat (in both IT magazine and the Minnesota Daily), and an article featuring seven AEM students’ and their internships at NASA over the summer, are available through http://www.aem.umn.edu/spotlight.shtml. While we are making progress in increasing our visibility, we do need your assistance. Please submit news, photos, and comments to aemnews@aem.umn.edu.
We continue to strive to be one of the top Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics departments in the country. We have made excellent progress toward that goal this past academic year. With your help, we will continue to make progress and achieve our goal in the coming years.
Best Regards,
Gary J. Balas
Department Head
Graduate Studies
Message from the Department Head
The University of Minnesota's Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics offers a M.S. and a Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, as well as a professionally-oriented Master of Aerospace Engineering. The graduate program emphasizes fundamental research in the areas of fluid mechanics, solid mechanics and materials, computational mechanics, and aerospace systems.
Our faculty members are internationally known for their research accomplishments. We have one Distinguished McKnight University Professor, two McKnight Land Grant Professors, one Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor, two junior faculty with prestigious NSF Career Awards, one member of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering, one fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics, and two fellows of the American Physical Society. Faculty members have ongoing research in areas ranging from fundamental studies in fluid and solid mechanics to aerospace applications of advanced control theories. This research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, NASA, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Department of Energy, NIH, and a variety of other public agencies and private corporations.
Faculty members in the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics department have some of the highest levels of per capita research funding in the Institute of Technology. Our experimental facilities are modern and extensive, and students have access to outstanding computational facilities including the most advanced supercomputers.
Faculty in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics collaborate regularly on research projects both within the Department and with faculty in other departments in the Institute of Technology. Our students are encouraged to obtain a broad academic background by taking courses in other departments when appropriate. The Department has a major participation in the Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC) and also has strong ties with many other centers, including the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Control Science and Dynamical Systems (CSDy) Center, and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI). The Department has numerous collaborations with firms in the U.S. and abroad through consulting, educational and research projects.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics offers a high quality graduate education in a variety of areas. The Department is small enough to allow our graduate students to interact closely with faculty members, yet large enough to offer a wide variety of research opportunities.
Gary J. Balas, Professor and
Department Head
Department of Aerospace Engineering And Mechanics
Last Modified: 2007-11-13 at 14:49:52 -- this is in International Standard Date and Time Notation
