Aerospace Engineering
The Aerospace Engineering program of study emphasizes aerodynamics, structures, propulsion,
and flight mechanics with instructional material leading to a year-long capstone design
experience in the senior year. Design Teams are often multi-disciplinary with students from
other majors and at different academic levels.
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Delta Vortex Takeoff. In collaboration with the Mechanical Engineering Department.
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Computer Aided Design.
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Outstanding Design
Outstanding Design requires a comprehensive background in all of the areas of study associated
with Aerospace Engineering.
Aerodynamics: Subsonic, supersonic and computational aerodynamics are all a
part of the AE program at Virginia Tech. Students learn to use state-of-the-art
computational and experimental facilities for flows from 10mph to Mach 10.
Structures: Light yet super-strong, modern aero-space structures employ composite materials
and innovative geometries. AE students learn the latest numerical techniques for structural
analysis.
Propulsion: From props to jets to rochets, AE students use their bacground in physics,
thermodynamics and fluid dynamics to understand and analyze the propulsion systems of the
future.
Flight Mechanics: Astromechanics, Aircraft Performance, Stability and Control;
all are needed to understand how to make the designs of tomorrow go faster, further
and higher or deeper into space.
Electives: Other courses include Design Optimization, Automatic Flight Control,
Computational Aerodynamics, Computational Structural Analysis, and Aerospace Manufacturing.
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Collaborative Learning
Top educators tell us that the best way to learn is to teach your peers in a group
environment. AE Design courses use the group design process to both better simulate the
way design is done in the real world and to promote the benefits of collaborative learning.
By doing design in groups, AE students learn to build on one another's strengths, to work
with others toward a single goal, to make the compromises needed to optimize a good design into
an award winning design.
Dedicated to Excellence in Instruction
The faculty/student ration on the AE program is about 1 to 10, allowing each faculty member
to really get to know the students. AE faculty bring a variety of professional backgrounds to the
classroom. Diverse and extensive experience in aerospace industry design, NASA Research, flight
testing and many other developing fields greatly enhance the classroom and lab experience
with state-of-the-art and up-to-the-minute reality. Several faculty are licensed pilots,
giving them a practical feel for aeronautics and the ability to relate well to student interests.
Many are active members of professional societies involved with the improvement of
engineering education; and all are dedicated to excellence in engineering instruction,
several having won teaching and research awards.
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AOE Undergraduate Studies
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