Dear alumni, friends, students, staff and faculty,
We often hear that aerospace engineering is the ultimate team sport. No one launches to the Moon alone. As a reflection of that, a collaborative culture is thriving within the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. A strong community is a pillar in our strategic plan, and I’m proud of what our faculty and staff continue to accomplish.
Our school reached two record highs recently: Our Gambaro Graduate Program in Aeronautics and Astronautics is No. 2 in the U.S. — in a tie for the best program at a public institution — according to U.S. News and World Report, and our undergraduate program has been in the top three for the second year in a row.
It’s a remarkable achievement for our program that had a total student enrollment around 300 when I joined Purdue, and now graduates more aerospace engineers than any other institution in the US. That growth comes with challenges, but we persist through grit, determination, and togetherness.
When our student clubs were outgrowing Armstrong Hall, we leased 5,000 square feet of space off campus. With the tools and equipment there, they can design and build better vehicles for collegiate engineering competitions. Working with the college, we are now securing an on-campus location to make this “maker space” more accessible.
New professor-of-practice and lecturer positions are becoming a core part of how we address our record enrollment and continue to provide a top-tier education. They reduce the strain on tenured faculty who are still engaged in research, and I’m heartened to see that they are being integrated as part of the team. We are also rewarding our outstanding tenure-track faculty through two more named professorships, made possible by a loyal donor.
Like many other schools our size, we are also adding postdocs to expand our research reach. The new Apollo 11 Postdoctoral Fellowship is funded through the success of the patented ALITEC solid rocket fuel, developed by Adranos founder Brielle Terry during her PhD studies here.
You’ll find stories on many more developments within this publication: from new facilities to patented technologies; from fundamental research producing more resilient jet engines to a structural fatigue training partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force.
With these successes and more, I’m grateful to have received and accepted an offer continuing my role as the Uhrig and Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The coming years will bring many more challenges, to be sure. But if we work together, they will yield successes too.
Boiler up!
William A. Crossley
Uhrig & Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics