AIAA Student Paper Competitions recognize outstanding student research presented at AIAA forums and events. The competitions give undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to present original technical work, gain professional recognition, and receive feedback from their peers in industry and academia.
Participants must be the primary author, an AIAA student or professional member, and present work completed while enrolled as a student. Submissions are evaluated on originality, technical quality, clarity of writing, acknowledgment of prior work, validity of results, and overall contribution to the aerospace field. In many competitions, oral presentations are also considered.
Competitions span multiple aerospace disciplines, offering students the chance to showcase research in specialized technical areas. Awards may include certificates, cash prizes, and recognition within the AIAA technical community.
These competitions promote innovation, technical excellence, and student engagement across the aerospace profession.
Competitions at AIAA SciTech Forum
Aerospace Cybersecurity Student Paper Competition
“When to Compute in Space” (AIAA-2026-2663), Rajiv Thummala and Gregory Falco, Cornell University
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-2663
Intelligent Systems Student Paper Competition
“Probabilistic Multi-Agent Aircraft Landing Time Prediction” (AIAA-2026-1764), Kyungmin Kim, Seokbin Yoon, and Keumjin Lee, Korea Aerospace University (Republic of South Korea)
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1764
Gravity Dependent Science and Technology Student Paper Competition
“Equilibrium and Stability of Orbiting Liquid Mirror Telescopes” (AIAA-2026-0312), Janoah Dietrich and Álvaro Romero-Calvo, Georgia Institute of Technology
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-0312
Meshing, Visualization, and Computational Environments Student Paper Competition
Sponsored by FlexCompute
“Compression and Ray-March Rendering Using Implicit Neural Representations of Data Values and Domain Extent” (AIAA 2026-0158), Robert Sales and Graham Pullan, University of Cambridge
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-0158
Sensor Systems and Information Fusion Student Paper Competition
“Boomless Search Coil Sensing with Magnetorquers in CubeSats: Addressing Magnetic Remanence and Interference” (AIAA-2026-1448), Surya S. Kalluri, Alex P. Hoffmann, Mark B. Moldwin, James W. Cutler and Lauro V. Ojeda, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1448
Small Satellites Student Paper Competition
“Expulsion Dynamics of Saturated Cold-Gas Propellant in Microgravity” (AIAA-2026-1429), Hugh Chen, Shay Vitale and Álvaro Romero Calvo, Georgia Institute of Technology
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1429
Jefferson Goblet Student Paper Award
“Deployable Composite Toroid Holding a Circular Membrane” (AIAA-2026-1040), Federico Benazzo, George A. Popov, Juan Mejia-Ariza and Sergio Pellegrino, California Institute of Technology
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1040
American Society for Composites Student Paper Competition
Sponsored by the American Society for Composites
“Physics-Informed Guided Wave Modes as Robust Identifiers of Progressive Structural Degradation in Thin-Walled Composite Structures” (AIAA-2026-1280), Anirudh Gullapalli, Carol Featherston and Abhishek Kundu, Cardiff University
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1280
Lockheed Martin Student Paper Award in Structures
Sponsored by Lockheed Martin
“Understanding the Influence of Boundary Condition and Crack Spacing on Impact Analysis of Composite Laminates” (AIAA-2026-1466), Oscar A. Valdez Loya and Paul Davidson, University of Texas at Arlington
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1466
Harry H. and Lois G. Hilton Student Paper Award in Structures
“Buckling Optimization of Stiffness Varied Isotropic, Anisotropic, and Sandwich Panels” (AIAA-2026-0842), Sandesh Amgai and Paul Davidson, University of Texas at Arlington
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-0842
SwRI Student Paper Competition Award in Non-Deterministic Approaches
Sponsored by SwRI
“A Stochastic Framework for Multiaxial Fatigue Analysis of Composite Structures Under Variable Amplitude Loading” (AIAA-2026-0768), Jafar Sadique Pilakkadan, University of Alabama; Mishal Thapa, Clarkson University; and Sameer B. Mulani, University of Alabama
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-0768
Guidance Navigation and Control Graduate Student Paper Competition
“Active Continuous-Time Simultaneous Localization & Mapping for Powered Descent Guidance Maneuvers” (AIAA-2026-0969), Samuel C. Buckner, University of Washington; John M. Carson and Breanna J. Johnson, NASA Johnson Space Center; and Behcet Acikmese, University of Washington
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-0969
Uncrewed and Autonomous Systems Student Paper Competition
“Development of an Autonomous Uncrewed Aerial System – Dragonfly – with Payload Delivery, Image Detection and Mapping Capabilities, for the 2025 SUAS Competition” (AIAA-2026-1862), Abdelrahman Ibrahim, Jose Alejandro Crespo Cuellar, Amrik Singh Chana, Christopher Schaefer, Aida Bah, Michael E. Brady and Srikanth Gururajan, Saint Louis University
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2026-1862
