Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) students at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, brought home first and third places in team competition and a third in the undergraduate category at the virtual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Region II Student Conference.
AIAA holds conferences in each AIAA region for student members at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. First place winners in each category are invited to attend and present their papers at the AIAA International Student Conference, to be held in conjunction with the 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum in San Diego, Calif., on Jan. 3-7, 2022.
"The AIAA Region II Student Conference participants come from well-known universities throughout the Southeast," says Dr. Brian Landrum, MAE associate chair, associate professor and advisor to the UAH AIAA Student Branch.
"The Team Design competition includes evaluation of a written paper and oral presentation. The winners demonstrate excellence in technical content and communication, as well as teamwork," Dr, Landrum says.
"One university placing two teams in the top three in this category is unusual. Placing in the Undergraduate category is also a significant accomplishment," he says. "This just confirms the quality of our MAE students and program. All our student participants were great representatives of UAH."
The awards:
Team Category
First Place – "Proposal for austere light attack aircraft – Project Aardvark," Joseph Hayes, Andrew Heath, Brady Alexander, Spencer Grady, Jorge Velasco, Noah Jorgensen, Veronica Rodriguez and Joshua Richardson.
Third Place – "Kestrel Aeronautics: KA-Ranger," Madison Smith, Jason Burke, John McDonough, Lindsey Dow, Connor Hawkins, Nathaniel Matthews, Thomas Key and Wyatt Dritz.
Undergraduate Category
Third Place – "Developing a Flapping Gear System for Butterfly-Inspired Motion," Frederick Schulze and Chang-Kwon Kang.
