The AIAA University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Student Branch hosted the Region IV Student Conference, 28–29 March, with support from AIAA Headquarters, Region IV, and AIAA North Texas Section. Students from around Region IV (Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico) made 33 undergraduate, 14 graduate, and 19 team paper presentations.
The keynote, “Engineering Talent: What Is Important for the Future?”, was given by David Hunn, Lockheed Martin Missile & Fire Control (retired). Hunn explained how solving the really tough engineering problems takes hard work, teamwork, and bravery, noting it’s “nearly impossible if you don’t enjoy what you do.” He urged students to think out of the box and push the envelope, and make mistakes to learn and improve. Hunn also added that different viewpoints, different experiences, and different backgrounds are advantages to product development, so he encouraged students to be open to “great ideas and talented people everywhere.”
AIAA North Texas Advisory Board provided many of the judges while the UTD students ran an excellent event with over 245 attendees. Cash prizes were awarded for first-, second-, and third- place winners for each category and students had the option to publish their papers with AIAA.
Region IV Winners
Undergraduate Category
- 1st Place – Efficiency of Bio-Inspired Blades for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines, Smruthi Ahashidhar and Kiran Bhaganagar, University of Texas at San Antonio
- 2nd Place – Development of a Bimodal Ammonium Perchlorate Cast Propellant for 54-mm and 76-mm Solid Rockets, Alex Earnhart and Jacob Robinson, Oklahoma State University
- 3rd Place – Frequency Response of Fast-Responsive Pressure-Sensitive Paint, Andrew Cervantes and Alexandria Lopez-Boor, University of Texas at San Antonio
Graduate Category
- 1st Place – Tailoring Metal Particle Deposition on Non-conductive Woven Fabrics for Multifunctional Applications using an Electroplating Process, Isaac Carney and Isaac Williams, Oklahoma State University
- 2nd Place – Development of a Micro-Turbojet Engine Control Unit for Component Level Efficiencies Monitoring, Zachary Wattenbarger and Kurt Rouser, Oklahoma State University
- 3rd Place – An Analytical Model for Thin Film Heat-Transfer Gauges, Emirhan Bayir, University of Texas at Arlington
Team Category
- 1st Place – Optimization of Wheel Design for NASA TSGC Lunar Personal Electric Vehicle (LPEV): A Mechanical Engineering Approach, Akash Musale, Swaid Alrashed, Easton Duplichan, Silas Hill, and Nourouddin Sharifi, Tarleton State University
- 2nd Place – Application of Neuromorphic Attitude Control to High-Powered Rockets, Daniel Bluedorn, Kaiden Kiracofe, Brian Davis, Kimberly Perez, and Stefan Fountain, New Mexico State University
- 3rd Place – Development of a 2-Dimensional, Variable-Area Nozzle for Small Unmanned Aircraft Micro-Turbojets, Noah Greeson, Andrew Knotts, Sue Ellyn Corbett, Ryan Berzas, Alexandra Boyko, Tyler Rogalski, and Kurt Rouser, Oklahoma State University
