AIAA Announcements Nominations for AIAA President-Elect Being Accepted Through 17 July 

The AIAA Executive Nominating Committee (ENC) will compile a list of potential nominees for the position of AIAA President-Elect. This list will include nominees who will be selected to go to the next step of competency review and interview held by the nominating committee. The ENC will select specific candidates for the position who will be voted on by the AIAA membership. The final slate of candidates will be publicized by December 2020 for the election that will be held January/February 2021. AIAA members may nominate members qualified for the open position by submitting a nomination no later than 1800 hrs EDT, 17 July 2020.

To nominate an AIAA member in good standing for AIAA President-Elect, please submit the nominee’s bio and/or CV, history of AIAA activities and/or engagement with other professional societies, and a statement from the nominee of willingness and ability to serve if elected.

Please submit nominations directly to Christopher Horton, AIAA Governance Secretary, chrish@aiaa.org, no later than 1800 hrs EDT, 17 July 2020.

AIAA Announcements Nominations for AIAA Directors Being Accepted Through 17 July 

The AIAA Council of Directors Nominating Committee (CNC) will compile a list of potential nominees for the open Director positions on the AIAA Council of Directors. This list will include nominees who will be selected to go to the next step of competency review and interview held by the nominating committee. The nominating committee will select specific candidates for the open Director positions who will be voted on by the AIAA membership. The final slate of candidates will be publicized by December 2020 for the election that will be held January/February 2021.

Nominations are being accepted for Regional Directors, Integration and Outreach Group Director, and Technical Group Directors for the term beginning May 2021–2024. AIAA members may nominate members qualified for the open position by submitting a nomination no later than 1800 hrs EDT, 17 July 2020.

Regions coordinate the activities of geographically related sections to facilitate cooperative efforts between the various geographical areas. A Regional Director shall lead each region. The voting members who belong to that region shall elect the Regional Director for that region. The Regional Director for each group shall be a member of the Regional Engagement Activities Division (READ) as well as a delegate to the Council of Directors. The term for Regional Directors shall be three years and there shall be a limit of the Regional Director serving two consecutive terms. Nominations are being accepted for:

Region III – Central, Director
Region VI – Western, Director

Integration and Outreach Groups coordinate the activities of related Integration and Outreach Committees to facilitate cooperative efforts between the various professional areas. An Integration and Outreach Group Director shall lead each Integration and Outreach Group. All voting members shall elect the Integration and Outreach Directors. The Integration and Outreach Director for each group shall be a member of the Integration and Outreach Activities Division (IOD) as well as a delegate to the Council of Directors. The term for Integration and Outreach Group Directors shall be three years and there shall be a limit of the Integration and Outreach Group Director serving two consecutive terms. Nominations are being accepted for:

Young Professionals Group, Director-Elect

Technical Groups coordinate the activities of related technical committees to facilitate cooperative efforts between the various technical disciplines. A Technical Director shall lead each Technical Group. The voting members who belong to that group shall elect the Technical Director for that group. The Technical Director for each group shall be a member of the Technical Activities Division (TAD) as well as a delegate to the Council of Directors. The term for Technical Directors shall be three years and there shall be a limit of the Technical Director serving two consecutive terms. Nominations are being accepted for:

Aerospace Design and Structures Group, Director
Aerospace Sciences Group, Director

To nominate an AIAA member in good standing for the open positions on the AIAA Council of Directors, please submit the nominee’s bio and/or CV, history of AIAA activities and/or engagement with other professional societies, and a statement from the nominee of willingness and ability to serve if elected.

Please submit nominations directly to Christopher Horton, AIAA Governance Secretary, chrish@aiaa.org, no later than 1800 hrs EDT, 17 July 2020.

Publications Information Important Announcement: New Editor-in-Chief Sought for the AIAA Journal

AIAA is seeking an outstanding candidate with an international reputation for this position to assume the responsibilities of Editor-in-Chief of the AIAA Journal in early 2021.

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the journal’s quality and reputation as well as establishing a strategic vision for the journal. He or she receives manuscripts, assigns them to Deputy Editors or Associate Editors for review and evaluation, and monitors the performance of the editorial team to ensure that the manuscripts are processed in a fair and timely manner. The Editor-in-Chief works closely with AIAA staff on implementing publications policies and procedures, planning special collections of papers, and scheduling monthly issues. AIAA provides all appropriate resources to support the peer-review process, including a web-based manuscript-submission and tracking system.

Interested candidates are invited to submit letters of application and résumés for consideration. A selection committee will seek candidates and review all applications received, and a final recommendation will be made to the chair of the AIAA Publications Committee. This is an open process, and the final selection will be made only on the basis of the applicants’ merits. All candidates will be notified of the final decision. Questions may be referred to Heather Brennan, Director, Publications heatherb@aiaa.org.

Complete application requirements and deadline are available at Aerospace Research Central (https://arc.aiaa.org/neweicaiaaj2021).

AIAA Foundation Making an Impact: Design/Build/Fly Continued After Grounding

The aircraft built by the three winning teams: top left, 2nd place Georgia Tech; middle, 1st place USC and top right, 3rd place UNLV. Credit: Georgia Tech, USC, and UNLV

Each year AIAA invites university students from around the globe to participate in the AIAA/Textron Aviation/Raytheon Missile Systems Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition (aiaa.org/DBF). DBF is a premier event for student aerospace engineers because it provides a real-world aircraft design test for them by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytic studies. DBF experience is known to give students a resume boost.

This year the 24th annual DBF fly-off in Wichita, KS, was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the formal report portion continued.

The 2019–2020 winners are:

First Place ($3,000 and $100 for Best Report Score): University of Southern California
Second Place ($2,000): Georgia Institute of Technology
Third Place ($1,500): University of Nevada, Las Vegas

You can watch footage of many 2019–2020 teams flying their aircraft at AIAA’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOl5RDXeYOMBVWHKOu5rz4TXObH-yu60X.

DBF’s success is thanks to the many volunteers from Textron Aviation, Raytheon Missile Systems, and the AIAA sponsoring technical committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, publicize the event, gather entries, judge the written reports, and in all other years, organize the fly-off.

University of Southern California (USC)

The 2019-2020 USC AeroDesign Team airplane, SCkyfall, was a foam monoplane that carried 39 passengers and towed a 450-inch banner. The fuselage was made of foam covered with fiberglass, and the nose was reinforced with carbon fiber. The wing consisted of a foam core covered with fiberglass and carbon spar caps, while the tail was made of flat balsa plates. The landing gear was a carbon bow gear placed in a tail-dragger configuration.

The USC team said they “gained valuable experience measuring in-flight banner drag to define a Reynolds Number design range and determine the banner geometry that minimized drag. The 2019-2020 year was also the team’s first experience in over a decade designing an airplane that weighed more than 20 pounds when fully loaded, so the team learned build techniques that allowed the aircraft to withstand flight loads associated with airplanes of this weight class.”

USC Faculty Advisors
Charles Radovich
Wyatt Sadler

USC Team Members
Ara Mahseredjian
Michael Tawata
Chentao Yu
Neeraj Utgikar
Michelle Karpishin
Drew Hudock
Ben Boggs
Lawrence Goo
Jackson Markow
Muqun Hu
Jack Ahrens
Diana Salcedo-Pierce
Randi Arteaga

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Tech team said, “this year’s DBF competition was very challenging, with a complex scoring function and unique payloads. It was a steep learning curve for all of us as we worked to balance competing requirements, CAD complex geometries, and build on a tight schedule. We also tried to implement some new building techniques to improve our aircraft’s performance and learned from our mistakes in the process. Even though we couldn’t go to the fly-off, the work we put into developing, building, and testing an aircraft for competition has been an incredible experience that we’re all proud of.”

Georgia Tech Faculty Advisor
Carl Johnson

Georgia Tech Team Members
Daniel Sagan
Harshini Sivakumar
Antoine Paletta
Thomas Walker
Arunachalam Palaniappan
Ethan Das
Yuchen Xie
Xiaoyu Huang
Anderson Page
Pranav Krishnamurthy
Scott Nealon
Parth Kumar
Tristan Huang

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

The UNLV AIAA team comprised a handful of students with a passion for aviation, even though UNLV doesn’t have an aerospace engineering program.

UNLV team members said, “We combined our knowledge of aircraft design, engineering software, manufacturing techniques, and love for aviation in order to conceptualize and design our aircraft. Throughout our work on Bullitt Bill, we developed our skills and expertise in everything from XFLR15 to carbon fiber layup techniques. We are proud to come from a small and close-knit organization that has, in only two years, managed to receive third place on a very reputable competition. Spending endless hours together in our machine shop brought us together as a group and made every single one of us a better engineer!”

UNLV Faculty Advisor
William Culbreth

UNLV Team Members
Sophia Leon
Jet Baroudi
Emma Chao
Spencer Buyse
Jessalynn O’Brien
Kevin Rodriguez
Angel Barajas
Karsten Cartright
Anthony Costanzo
Brandon Avendano
Victor Quintanilla
Devin Krystek
David Quintanilla
Yamileth Mejia
Cooper Madrazo

For more information about how to get involved with AIAA and make an impact on the next generation of aerospace engineers, please visit www.aiaa.org/get-involved or contact Merrie Scott, merries@aiaa.org.

AIAA Program AIAA Hosts Webinar with Doug Loverro

Screenshot from AIAA's webinar with Doug Loverro. Credit: AIAA

On 20 April, AIAA hosted a webinar on Commercial Development in Low Earth Orbit with Doug Loverro, then NASA Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. Over 500 viewers watched the session live. Viewers included top industry executives, young professionals, students and academics, retirees, international members, officials from ESA and NASA, and congressional staffers.

AIAA members can access the video recording of the webinar by going to aiaa.org/events-learning/event/2020/04/20/default-calendar/briefing-commercial-development-in-low-earth-orbit-(member-exclusive-webinar).

AIAA will be hosting additional webinars on topics of interest beginning with a briefing by NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk on 1 June, 1300–1400 hrs EDT (https://www.aiaa.org/events-learning/event/2020/06/01/default-calendar/briefing-nasa’s-steve-jurczyk-(free-webinar)).

AIAA Announcements AIAA and Royal Aeronautical Society Sign MOU to Join Forces on Future Aerospace Outreach 

AIAA and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enable the two preeminent professional aerospace societies to collaborate on future endeavors. 

“AIAA looks forward to collaborating with the Royal Aeronautical Society to unite our strengths in helping shape the aerospace community and giving meaningful benefits to our members,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “As virtual events become the norm, we can more easily take a collective international approach to inform and engage the aerospace community. By doing so, we hope to capture the imaginations of students, whom the aerospace community needs if we are to continue exploring and making new discoveries. Working together, AIAA and RAeS plan to show the creativity, dedication and science that drives aerospace professionals and open up the possibilities of the future of aerospace.” 

Professor Jonathan Cooper, president of the RAeS commented, “As the aerospace sector rises to tackle the challenging environment we are all operating in, the Royal Aeronautical Society looks forward to joining forces with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to support the workforce, apprentices and students through this period, and also after we have overcome the pandemic. 

There are many exciting opportunities ahead for the tomorrow’s aerospace professional as we embrace the future of flight and strive to reach new frontiers whilst also tackling the hard questions on climate change and sustainability.” 

AIAA and RAeS plan to cooperate in the following areas:

Promoting learned activities such as lectures, conferences, and other activities of mutual interest;  
Recognizing our members with joint honors and awards initiatives; 
Other areas of interest that may arise. 

AIAA Program Space Policy Pod

Given the current real-world challenges confronting all of us, AIAA has joined The MITRE Corporation, Space Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to produce this podcast series to examine events and ideas affecting the space sector. Each episode will feature an open and candid discussion with a prominent policy leader. The episodes serve as an enlightening discussion on the relevant topics of the day with insights from key policymakers in the field.

The first podcast episode with Scott Pace, Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, was released on 6 May. Episode 2 with Matt Scholl from the National Institute of Standards and Technology was released on 20 May. Episodes can be found at aiaa.org/events-learning/podcasts.

AIAA Program Aerospace Career Pathways: AIAA Student Webinar Series

Take advantage of this free opportunity for AIAA students to hear from successful professionals on four different tracks in the aerospace industry: public service, academia, professional engineering, and entrepreneurship. Discover firsthand how these individuals developed their professional skills and overcame career challenges, and hear insights that will help students during their student-to-professional transition. Explore more about the topics and speakers at aiaa.org/events-learning/aiaa-webinars.

Section News Cape Canaveral Section Hosts Panel on Space Policy and Economic Development

L to R: Elizabeth Balga, section chair; Leslie Lake, Business Development for RS&H, Inc.; Congressman Bill Posey, U.S. Representative for Florida’s 8th Congressional District; and Jim Kuzma, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Space Florida. Credit: AIAA Cape Canaveral Section

On 19 February the AIAA Cape Canaveral Section hosted a moderated panel discussion on “Space Policy and Economic Development.” Congressman Bill Posey discussed his amendment to the SPACE Act (H.R. 2262) that streamlines regulatory processes, encourages cooperation between government agencies and eliminates red tape of the commercial space sector.

The panel also explored economic developments in commercial space activity and manufacturing in zero G, including 3D printing of human organs and pharmaceuticals, before discussing the mobile launcher for moon missions. The legacy Mobile Launch Platforms that carried the Saturn-V are being modified to support the new Space Launch System (SLS) Expendable Launch Vehicles that will carry astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars.

Section News Indiana Section Recognizes 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13

Screenshot from Newell's talk. Credit: AIAA Indiana Section

In mid-April the AIAA Indiana Section hosted a virtual talk by Dave Newill in honor of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13. Newill, an AIAA Associate Fellow and retired Rolls-Royce executive, discussed how 50 years ago, on 14 April, Apollo 13 was explosively damaged, short of oxygen and electricity and heading behind the moon. The lecture celebrated the safe return of the Apollo 13 astronauts and examined what had to happen to allow them to safely return to Earth.

Section News Maintaining Connections with an AIAA Virtual Happy Hour

Attendees enjoying the conversations while reviewing the logistics reminder. Images on the right: top: Dr. Chandrashekhar Sonwane, AIAA LA-LV Section Chair; middle with white headset: Dr. Daniel P. Raymer, AIAA Fellow; bottom: Jerry Lockenour. Credit: AIAA LA-LV Section

By Brett Cornick, AIAA LA-LV Council Member

On 2 April, the AIAA Los Angeles-Las Vegas (LA-LV) Section hosted an electronic happy hour geared specifically toward young professionals as an opportunity for them to meet and network during this time of social distancing. Nearly 30 active members ranging from college students to seasoned professionals gathered virtually online to share stories, industry insights, job search tips, and words of motivation for any young professionals looking for opportunities and advice in this troubling time. The event lasted 90 minutes and was the first of what is likely to be a series of similar events hosted over the next few months. This event provided a unique opportunity for all members to speak and be heard in a low-stakes, friendly environment.

I was fortunate enough to be given the task of moderating the happy hour, sponsored by the AIAA LA-LV Young Professionals, despite relatively minimal involvement in planning and organizing other AIAA events. All it took was a simple email from me offering my time as a volunteer and before I knew it, I was put on the job! AIAA is always looking for more young professionals to get involved, so if you find yourself with too much time on your hands during the stay-at-home orders, volunteering for these e-events is a great way to network and stay productive!

Obituary AIAA Fellow Passman Died in April

Richard Passman, an aeronautical engineer whose wide-ranging career took him through the early stages of supersonic flight, spy satellites and intercontinental ballistic missiles, died on 1 April, from complications from COVID-19. He was 94.

Mr. Passman earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1944, a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1946, and a master’s in aeronautical engineering in 1947, all from the University of Michigan. After the start of World War II, he joined the Navy Flight Training Program from the University of Michigan. 

Moving to General Electric, he concentrated on spacecraft. He was a manager in a part of the company responsible for creating systems that allowed objects sent plunging through the atmosphere to withstand the blazing heat of re-entry. This included the Corona, the first spy satellite, which would high-resolution photographs and ejected the film in a heat-shielding “bucket.” The container re-entered the atmosphere, deployed a parachute and was snagged out of the air by military aircraft. G.E. was responsible for the bucket.

Mr. Passman also helped lead efforts to create heat shielding technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles and multiple-warhead missiles. He continued to work on projects for the space program as G.E.’s general manager for space activities, which involved systems for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, including the SNAP-27 power systems still on the moon, and he worked on the development of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory before it was cancelled. He also spent time working at the Department of Energy and also at Grumman on re-designs of the International Space Station.

In retirement, Mr. Passman volunteered at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and he and John Anderson co-wrote X-15: The World’s Fastest Rocket Plane and the Pilots Who Ushered in the Space Age, published in 2014 by the Smithsonian.

Mr. Passman was a lifelong member of AIAA, having joined as a teenager (he was the youngest member at that time). He also served as chair of the AIAA Philadelphia Section in the early 1970s.

Obituary AIAA Fellow Singer Died in April

Dr. S. Fred Singer passed away on 6 April. He was 95.

Dr. Singer, escaped from Austria after the Nazi invasion when he was sent to England as part of the “Kindertransport” program. In the 1940s, he immigrated to the United States, serving in the Navy during World War II. In 1943, he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University and then master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Princeton University in 1944 and 1948, respectively.

Dr. Singer was a consultant during the start-up of the U.S. space program in the 1950s and later, while working for what is now NOAA, he worked on early efforts to use satellites in weather forecasting.

He taught at several universities, first as a professor at the University of Maryland in the 1950s, before moving to the University of Miami in 1964, where he became the first dean of a school of environmental and planetary studies. He held high-ranking positions at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency before joining the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1971. In the late 1980s, Dr. Singer was chief scientist at the U.S. Transportation Department and in the 1990s a research professor at George Mason University.

Dr. Singer oversaw some of the first experiments with high-altitude rockets and satellites, and he wrote many research papers and contributed articles to the popular press.

In 1990, Dr. Singer founded the Science and Environmental Policy Project, and in 2007, he helped launch the Non-governmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC). He believed that government regulations were wrong and expensive. He focused his attention mostly on climate change, and he became known as a climate change denier.

Obituary AIAA Associate Fellow Rozycki Died in April

Richard C. (Dick) Rozycki died on 15 April, at the age of 87, from complications from COVID-19. 

He was a 1955 graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering. In 1963, he earned a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Colorado.

Mr. Rozycki started out as an aeronautical engineer with Lockheed in 1955. He began working for Martin Marietta Aerospace in Littleton, CO, in 1960. Mr. Rozycki had a two-year assignment in New Orleans in the late 1970s, where he supported development of the external fuel tank for the first flights of the Space Shuttle. He retired from Martin Marietta (by then Lockheed Martin) in 1996.

Mr. Rozycki obtained his private pilot’s license when he was at the University of Minnesota, and he flew small planes regularly, often showing off his aerobatic skills and taking passengers for a loop, a barrel roll, or a hammerhead spin. 

Obituary AIAA Honorary Fellow Beggs Died in April

James M. Beggs, who served as the NASA administrator in the early 1980s, died on 23 April. He was 94.

After a year at Southern Methodist University, Mr. Beggs entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1947 as part of an accelerated program. He served in the Navy until 1954. He received an MBA from Harvard University soon after, before going to work for Westinghouse until 1968, when he became NASA’s chief of research in Washington. He worked at the Transportation Department from 1969 to 1973.

In 1974, Mr. Beggs became an executive vice president of General Dynamics, managing defense and aerospace projects. In 1981, he became NASA’s sixth administrator, serving until after the Challenger disaster on 28 January 1986. Under Mr. Beggs’s leadership, NASA grew to an annual budget of nearly $8 billion, 20,000 employees, and had more than 20 successful space shuttle missions. He worked to reestablish NASA’s standing with the space shuttle program and a new space station, which NASA was directed to build in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan.

He resigned as administrator soon after the Challenger explosion. He worked for various aeronautical companies, served on corporate boards, and worked as a consultant well into his 80s. Mr. Beggs joined AIAA in 1968 and became an Honorary Fellow in 1997.

Obituary AIAA Associate Fellow Boyer Died in April

Donald W. Boyer. Credit: Boyer Family

Donald W. Boyer, Calspan retired aerodynamicist, passed away at the age of 91 on 30 April.

Mr. Boyer grew up in Australia, where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne (B.Sc., Physics, 1953), and then received his Ph.D. in Aerophysics and Aerospace Engineering in 1959 from the University of Toronto. He worked at the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory right out of college. In 1970, the Cornell Lab became Calspan, and he retired from Calspan in 1995.

During his three-and-a-half decades of research, Dr. Boyer conducted experiments in high-energy, chemically-active flows such as those associated with shock tunnels, rocket nozzles and exhaust plumes, and hypersonic flight. His work combined fluid dynamics and high-temperature physics with creative experiments. Dr. Boyer made important contributions to the U.S. space surveillance program, providing key data (such as band strengths and reaction rates) that characterized the thermochemistry and associated radiation signatures of high altitude rocket exhaust plumes.

Throughout the Apollo program, his research contributed important understanding to the problem of communications blackout associated with space vehicle re-entry. Later during the Space Shuttle program, he performed laboratory measurements that confirmed and characterized the role of exoatmospheric O-atom collisional excitation of outgassing H2O as the explanation of observed glow from the Space Shuttle and other orbiting space vehicles.

The development programs of many U.S. space vehicle systems benefited from Dr. Boyer’s contributions to the application of the gaseous-equivalent propellant technique for the duplication (or simulation) of rocket solid propellants. This technique was particularly applicable to short-duration testing capabilities at the Calspan shock tunnels for investigating base heating effects associated with the Space Shuttle vehicle in boost-phase flight, as well as for studies of exoatmospheric plume signatures, and plume effects on deployed payloads from post-boost vehicles (Poseidon/Trident systems).

Dr. Boyer wrote over 50 technical reports and papers, many of the latter published at AIAA conferences and in AIAA journals. In the late 1980s he had the distinct honor of presenting the Gordon N. Patterson Lecture at the University of Toronto. In 2017 he was inducted into the Niagara Frontier Aviation and Space Hall of Fame. He was an active member of the AIAA Niagara Frontier Section and a member of the AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Technical Committee.