A spiderweb's
mechanical intelligence
How a spider's design principles could improve aerospace structures.
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Why Aero & Astro?
We are the only full aerospace engineering program in the Pacific Northwest, and we sit among Boeing, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Amazon Leo and PrimeAir, and dozens of smaller satellite and launch companies. That proximity puts internships, capstone sponsors, actionable research and employment close by. Here you can run tests in the Kirsten Wind Tunnel or work on fusion propulsion and composite structures alongside the faculty leading that research.
Explore Aero & Astro at UW
News
Taming fusion plasma
Our researchers are combining plasma physics and control theory to tame fusion plasma.
Shumlak first recipient of Lai/Yudkovsky fellowship
Alumnus Gary Lai and his wife, Natalya Yudkovsky, have established a fellowship to support faculty research in space exploration.
Google award for fusion energy research
Alan Kaptanoglu to lead optimization in a three-year project that will build neural network models to explore new stellarator designs and lower the cost of future fusion power plants.
Events
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Nov 16, 2026 @ 4:00 pm
A&A Monday Seminar with Fiona Spencer, UW Applied Physics Lab
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Nov 23, 2026 @ 4:00 pm
A&A Monday Seminar with Boeing's Zarir Pastakia
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Nov 26, 2026 @ 12:00 am
Thanksgiving Day
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Nov 27, 2026 @ 12:00 am
Native American Heritage Day
Plasma Science research
Alan Kaptanoglu joins A&A faculty
Alan Kaptanoglu returns to the UW where he will study plasma modeling, scientific machine learning and nuclear fusion.
Explore his work
Expanding the future in our labs
Our six research areas span everything that flies, from UAVs to spacecraft. Structures and fluids determine what a craft is made of and how efficiently it moves. Controls and integrated flight sciences govern how it flies. Plasma science and space systems look past the atmosphere. Much of it comes back down to earth, in applications to energy, manufacturing and transportation.
Explore our research
Subscribe to The Highflight magazine
Highflight is the department's alumni newsletter. Published annually, it features stories about students, faculty, research, alumni and more.