In February 2026, Boilermakers from AAE earned multiple honors from the American Astronautical Society's Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference. 

Best Paper Awards

PhD student Aaron Liao (pictured above with his advisor, assistant professor Kenshiro Oguri) and Jacob Wolf swept first and second place in the Student Paper Competition at AAS.

Liao received first place for his paper titled “A Higher-Order Autonomous Navigation Filter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Non-Gaussian Distributions.” Liao’s research, conducted within the Oguri Research Group, introduces a new autonomous navigation filter designed for systems with complex, nonlinear behavior and non-Gaussian uncertainty. The filter improves accuracy while reducing computational costs. The method also adapts to uncertainty, outperforming existing higher-order filtering approaches when tested in cislunar space.

Wolf, seen here with assistant professor Keith LeGrand, earned second place for his paper titled “Higher-Order Quadratic Control for Spacecraft Pursuit-Evasion Games.” His work focuses on spacecraft pursuit-evasion scenarios, where two spacecraft interact in non-cooperative environments. Traditional linear control methods often fail, and advanced nonlinear approaches can be computationally expensive. His research, done in LeGrand's SCOPE group, presents a higher-order control method that maintains strong performance over a wider range of conditions while remaining computationally efficient. 

Professional and Alumni Awards

Mahhad Nayyer, a PhD student, was the 2025 recipient of the AAS Patti Grace Smith Award as a young professional and mentor. Nayyer, pictured above, was recognized for “inspiring the next generation of global space professionals through mentorship, outreach, and inclusive leadership, fostering international collaboration and expanding opportunities for emerging nations in pursuit of a sustainable space future.”

In addition, AAE alumnus Mohammad Ayoubi (PhD AAE ‘07) received the 2025  Sally Ride Excellence in Education Award for his work bringing space-specific topics to STEM education. Ayoubi launched the aerospace engineering minor and master’s program at Santa Clara University. He has designed more than ten undergraduate and graduate courses. Additionally, he has frequently integrated industry engagements into the classroom through guest speakers and organized tours, providing students with direct connections to Silicon Valley’s aerospace community.