Highflight Magazine
2026 Edition
Professor Jim Hermanson flies with the Blue Angels
Q&A with Professor Hermanson on his ride of a lifetime with the Blue Angels.
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Leading into the third space age: Gary Lai named 2025 A&A Distinguished Alum
Gary Lai (BSAA '99), architect of Blue Origin's New Shepard and lunar resource innovator, named 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.
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The SOC-i CubeSat is now orbiting Earth
Students designed and built SOC-i, a shoebox-sized satellite now orbiting Earth after NASA selection.
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Eye-tracking for tailored autonomy: Karen Leung receives NSF grant
NSF funds eye-tracking research to help us create autonomous systems that can adjust to individual comfort levels.
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Nature's shock absorbers
Seabird-inspired aerospace adaptations can raise resilience upon impact.
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The perfect angle: Using sunlight to better track space objects
Ph.D. student Aditya Deole designs spacecraft paths that optimize sunlight angles for better tracking of objects in space.
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Bacteria-inspired nanoengines
Professor Taghvaei studies bacteria to build efficient, nature-inspired nano-sized engines with support from the NSF.
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Alum prepares to make space history
Alexis Harroun (BSAA ‘17) will be first to launch a rotating detonation rocket engine for an orbital flight.
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Charlie Higgins' legacy of aviation safety
Charlie Higgins (BSAA '71) transformed aviation safety through industry collaboration, from wind shear to 9/11.
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His story to tell
Professor Emeritus Reiner Decher chronicles his family history as part of a post-WWII technological migration.
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Digital tools to combat rain erosion captures Varanasi Fellowship
Ph.D. student Mira Tipirneni develops computational models to predict and combat aircraft surface damage from rain.
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John Berg named Condit Fellow for holistic aircraft controls research
Ph.D. student's research on holistic aircraft control systems earns prestigious fellowship for advancing aviation safety.
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Karen Leung wins NSF CAREER Award to build autonomous systems with enhanced human-like social skills
This award will support building autonomous systems with enhanced human-like social skills.
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Ed Habtour wins NSF CAREER Award to develop ultra-efficient ultra-fast biomimetic robots
This award will support developing ultra-efficient ultra-fast biomimetic robots.
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