Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

08/28/2026

What do rubber ducks and hockey pucks have to do with aviation? For this year's AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition, teams from around the world sought out their own answers to this question.

For the 20 students in Purdue's DBF team, their final rank — 11 out of 98 teams — was a huge success. It marked the first time in over a decade where they successfully completed all three flight missions.

Read more: https://buff.ly/wEDIhf1

08/27/2026

Recruitment for Naval Test Wing Atlantic is taking place on Wednesday, September 9! A booth will be in the Armstrong Hall Atrium from 8:00am to 4:30pm, and the information session will be held in HAMP 2108 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

All AAE graduate students, staff, and faculty are invited and encouraged to attend the Graduate Student Ice Cream Social! The event will be on Wednesday, September 2, from 1:30 to 3:00PM in Neil Armstrong Hall's Kurz Atrium.

Register: https://buff.ly/ZYyrv2J

08/25/2026

Stefano Campagnola, mission designer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, visited Purdue today to talk about his work as mission design manager for the Europa Clipper. He went in-depth their study of trajectory options, and the related radiation, data transfer, and science challenges that must be balanced in designing a deep-space mission like this one. The vehicle launched in 2024 to study the oceans on one of Jupiter’s moons. It is expected to reach Europa in 2030.

08/23/2026

From Purdue's wind tunnels to Formula 1. 🏎️

Claire Diffey (MSAAE '19), senior aerodynamicist with Atlassian Williams Racing, shares how her Purdue education helped launch her career in elite motorsport. This weekend, the work of this Purdue-trained engineer will be on display as the team competes at the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.

Read the Q&A: https://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE/spotlights/2026/2026-0806-claire-diffey-qa

08/21/2026

From help with updating exam questions, to making better use of course evaluations: This morning, Professor of Practice Jamie Canino led a hands-on faculty workshop for adding AI tools to their workflow. He shared human-in-the-loop tips and examples that can blend with how they already work.

Canino also compared the various available models, the ways they calculate tokens, and other practical considerations for day-to-day usage. He then led three development exercises to get everyone more conversant with their preferred tools.

With a little experimentation and the requisite engineer's rigor, faculty hope to lighten the administrative load and spend more time on their most important work: Education and research.

08/20/2026

Come join us for a Guest Lecture to start the semester! Join Stefano Campagnola, Europa Clipper Mission Design Manager, as he details the rapidly-inducted contingency redesign that became necessary for the launch of the Europa Clipper mission.

The lecture will be held in MSEE B012, on Tuesday, August 25th, 10:30am-11:30am.

More upcoming events: https://buff.ly/jJpo2i9

08/20/2026

Congratulations to AAE master's student Rahaf Sahban Adi on her accomplishments at this year's Blue Integrated Partnerships Summer Institute! As a Medici Fellow, Rahaf pursued two distinct research projects: one exploring energy security challenges in the age of AI, and another aimed at advancing the efficiency of hypersonic flight, through a program led by Purdue ME Professor Luciano Castillo.

Her work earned 3rd place in the Frederick Douglass Oral Research Presentation Award for her presentation, “Aperiodic Structures in Aerodynamics,” and is set to be published in an upcoming volume by Springer Nature. She was also recognized by faculty with the Extra Mile Award for her outstanding performance and contributions to the program.

08/19/2026

Congratulations to Purdue AAE Ph.D. student Emma Nicotra on being named a 2026 Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellow!

Selected as one of 30 women worldwide, Emma is recognized for her research exploring complex hypersonic flow phenomena in Purdue’s Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel, where she uses advanced experimentation and innovative technologies to better understand high-speed flight.

Read more about her research and journey at Purdue AAE: https://buff.ly/9KCpbz8