Recent News & Events

Recent News & In the Media

A&A Students Launch Rocket to Win Top Two Awards at IREC

A&A students launched a custom-built N20-paraffin hybrid rocket to an altitude of ~5 mi at the 7th Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition in Utah last month to win 1st Place in the Advanced Category! In addition, the high quality of engineering and impressive performance of the rocket won the team the coveted Furfaro Award for Technical Excellence. The launch team consisted of Viggo Hansen (team leader), Travis Edwards, Clayton Chu, Tom Slais, Andrew Hatt, Guoshi Li, and Ben Dagang. Supporting team members were Michael Hughes, Tim Ip, Raymond Li, and significant static testing assistance was provided by alumnus David Stechmann. Please help us in congratulating these students on all of their hard work and accomplishements!

Prof. Shumlak's Plasma Startup Creates High-Energy Light to Make Smaller Microchips

Prof. Uri Shumlak's ZaP lab has been working for more than a decade on fusion energy, harnessing the energy-generating mechanism of the sun. But in one of the twists of scientific discovery, on the way the researchers found a potential solution to a looming problem in the electronics industry. To bring their solution to market, Prof. Shumlak and EE Prof. Brian Nelson have launched a startup, Zplasma, that aims to produce the high-energy light needed to manufacture the next generation of microchips.

A&A Senior Space Design Team wins FIRST PLACE in Design Competition

The A&A Senior Space Design Team won FIRST PLACE in the 2012 RASC-AL Design Competition. The event was held June 11-12 in Cocoa Beach, FL. Please congratulate the team and their advisor, Dr. Dana Andrews.

New MAE Degree Beginning Autumn 2013

Beginning Autumn 2013, we will be restructuring the current Master of Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Degree to better serve the professional population, including classes offered on-campus in the evening.

Professor Kristi Morgansen Named UW Deputy Director of the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE)

The CSNE, a multidisciplinary, multi-university and international partnership, is a Generation 3 NSF Engineering Research Center with a focus on neural-inspired and neural-integrated implantable, wearable and interactive devices such as prosthetics, home rehabilitation, and assistive robotics. Learn more on their website: http://www.csne-erc.org/

UW AA Jumps to #13 on US News Ranking of Best Aerospace Schools

The US News and World Report's ranking of best graduate programs for 2013 puts the UW A&A's program at #13 on the list of top aerospace engineering schools. We are pleased with this recognition--although to us, our students and faculty are always #1!

UW ACS Lab Develops Materials for New Dreamliner Themed Lamborghini

Seattle Times, 3/13/12
Lamborghini unveiled a one-of-a-kind Aventador LP 700-4 which uses materials such as carbon fiber, similar to what is used in the 787 Dreamliner, that were developed at the University of Washington's Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Lab. Director of the lab is Aero & Astro Assistant Professor Paolo Feraboli.
Additional coverage:
"One Dreamliner of a Car"
"Lamborghini Aventador Boeing Edition"

The 2012 AIAA Region VI Student Conference to be Hosted by UW

The AIAA Student Conference is a technical paper competition for AIAA student members at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students from regional schools are invited to submit papers and give formal presentations that are judged for technical content and communication skills. A cash prize is awarded to the top three winners in each category plus presenters are also invited to attend the National AIAA Foundation conference.

AA Students Build Rocket for NASA Competition

The Daily, 1/16/12
This year, a team of AA students will build and launch a rocket that can climb up to one mile above ground. The University Student Launch Initiative (USLI) is a nationwide, NASA-sponsored competition in which teams of university students design and construct a rocket over the course of the school year. Throughout the process, plans are reviewed by engineers and scientists who work for NASA. The project culminates in April, when teams from participating universities gather to launch their rockets in Toney, Ala.

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