Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Notable News

Graduation 2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Photos from Commencement are now posted on the website.

USU wins the AFRL University Design Challenge

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

For the second year in a row the Mechanical & Aerospace Department has won the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) University Design Challenge (previous year’s challenge won by Ascending Aggies). This year’s challenge required the design of a portable bridge for a team of four special operations personnel to cross irrigation canals, rooftops, minefields, fast flowing mountain streams, snow and glacier crevasses, etc. The bridge needed to be portable and easy to deploy while having a maximum weight of 20 pounds. Each team was given $20,000 and 9 months to complete the design. USU had two teams (Bifrost and A-Team) each of whose designs received top honors.

Winners:

1st place: Utah State University
2nd place: Ohio State University
3rd place: Brigham Young University

Links:

AFRL website

NFW Daily News

Images:

A-Team

Top: Clair Hawkins, Taylor Clawson, Second Row Benjamin Scott, Tasha Stembridge, Byard Wood, Ruth Miller, Not pictured: Michael Terry, Joseph Woods

Bifrost Team

Back row: Andrew Ostler, Jens Rodman, Preston Rich, middle row: David Reynolds, Josh Vincent, Mitch Parker, Jeremy Kingsford, Byard Wood with the trophy.

MAE Grad Students Win Best Paper Award at ANS 2013 Student Conference

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

This year’s ANS Student Conference, hosted by MIT in Boston, MA April 4-6th, featured a new “Best Papers" session. Reviewers selected four graduate and undergraduate papers from a record number of submitted papers and posters. Criteria for selection were originality, significance, and relevance. USU MAE Graduate students Jeff Harris, Blake Lance and Jared Iverson were excited to have their paper selected as one of the four best graduate papers. Authors of the selected papers were asked to present to a large audience of technical program attendees, and the presentations were judged by a carefully selected panel made up of experts in the field.

Jeff Harris, lead author of the paper titled, “Single Phase Forced Convection Validation and Simulation”, attended the conference and presented the paper on behalf of his team. The paper discussed the design and preliminary data for a new CFD validation facility meant to enhance efforts in analysis of simulations for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant. In his presentation, Harris related the research ideas covered in the paper to the conference’s theme, ‘Public Image of the Nuclear Engineer,” by discussing how the research proposed in the paper would improve the public’s perception of nuclear energy. Click here to view slides from Jeff Harris’ presentation.

After final judging of the presentations, Harris was presented with the ‘Best Overall Graduate Paper’ award at an awards dinner later that evening. Dr. Barton Smith, graduate advisor to Jeff Harris and Blake Lance, congratulated the students on their success in this competition, which involved students from a variety of U.S. and international schools.

A petition to the ANS Student Sections Committee was submitted at the conference to form a section of ANS at Utah State University. The new section will give students more opportunity to gain leadership experience, meet professionals, present research and learn things that cannot be acquired in the classroom. For more information, contact ans@aggiemail.usu.edu.

USU’s Research on Hybrid Rockets Featured in Aerospace America

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 MST

In its December 2012 issue, Aerospace America featured USU’s research into micro-hybrid thrusters for use on nanosats. These MUPHyN (multiple-use plug hybrid for nanosats) thrusters will provide improved propulsion, allowing nanosats to be independently maneuvered after deployment. The thrusters use N₂O and ABC for propellants and have features such as very compact aerospike nozzles, nonmechanical thrust vectoring, nonpyrotechnic ignition systems, and new regenerative cooling systems. USU has successfully finished the first phase of tests on this design.

Undergraduate Research

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:00:00 MST

Students in the College of Engineering can now apply for the Engineering Undergraduate Research Program (EURP). The program allows students to work with faculty and gain hands on research experience.

Research

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:00 MST

Students and faculty participate in cutting edge research across multiple disciplines.

Why Choose Engineering?

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:00:00 MST

Biofuel Dragster Sets Land Speed Record

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:00:00 MST

Students and faculty from both the College of Engineering and College of Science worked together to build a race car officially known as the Aggie A-Salt Streamliner. The car runs on a yeast biodiesel derived from the industrial waste products of cheese production. The record was made during the World of Speed event held on the Bonneville Salt Flats where the vehicle made two separate runs: once using petroleum diesel and once using USU-created biofuel. Running on biofuel, the dragster matched its previous performance using petroleum diesel.

Read the full story:

Utah State Today

The Herald Journal

Space Exploration Exhibit Honors MAE Students

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:00:00 MST

University Libraries at USU is honoring the accomplishments of the Get Away Special (GAS) team with an exhibit, "30 Years of USU in Space Exploration."

"USU has sent more projects into space than any other institution in the world," said Andrew Wesolek, scholarly communications librarian. "This is obviously a huge achievement that, I think, is worthy of showcasing. The GAS has a real strong history of scientific outreach, and we wanted to capture that with the exhibit. When you have all of these experiments that were built by students and sent into space, hopefully the public - and the younger ones - will be inspired by it."

The exhibit can be seen through mid-September in the Merrill-Cazier Library on USU's Logan campus.

Information taken from The Herald Journal, "Honoring space research," July 25, 2012.

USU GAS team rides the 'Vomit Comet' 2011

MAE Students- NASA Winners

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 MST

Update: 2012 NASA Student Launch Initiative.

Utah State University MAE students were announced the winners for an unprecedented fourth year in the NASA Student Launch Initiative. Utah State beat out 40 other colleges and universities to win the $5,000 top prize.

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Notable News

Graduation 2013

USU wins the AFRL University Design Challenge

Images:

A-Team

Bifrost Team

MAE Grad Students Win Best Paper Award at ANS 2013 Student Conference

USU’s Research on Hybrid Rockets Featured in Aerospace America

Undergraduate Research

Research

Why Choose Engineering?

Biofuel Dragster Sets Land Speed Record

Read the full story:

Utah State Today

The Herald Journal

Space Exploration Exhibit Honors MAE Students

Information taken from The Herald Journal, "Honoring space research," July 25, 2012.

USU GAS team rides the 'Vomit Comet' 2011

MAE Students- NASA Winners

NASA Official Press Release

Fox SLC news coverage

USLI Details: competition requirements and complete list of participants

Utah State Today