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Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace engineering involves designing, manufacturing, and operating aircraft and spacecraft, from compact helicopters and huge airplanes to interplanetary probes.Knowledge in several other fields is key to being a qualified aerospace engineer since the concerned branch demands familiarity with electrical and electronics systems, computer programming, some areas of civil engineering, probability & statistics (risk analysis), noise control, thermodynamics, etc.

Finished products feature top-notch reliability, robustness, and fail-safe redundancy necessitated by the need for safety. For instance, a car breaking down in the middle of nowhere is perhaps no big deal compared to a large passenger jet running out of fuel in mid-air! Or maybe the odds of locating your misplaced SUV are far better than those of recovering a million dollar satellite thousands of miles above Earth.

Here are a few online and greatly informative courses that provide an introduction to the field:

1. Online Courses:

1. Introduction to Aerospace Engineering: Taught by former NASA astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, the MIT course mainly covers the basics of spaceflight, human exploration, orbital mechanics, and more.
2. From Goddard to Apollo: The History of Rockets, Part 1: The first of a series brought to you by one of the world’s largest organizations dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence, IEEE, this program takes you back to pioneering eras of aerospace, from ancient Chinese weaponry to the race to get a man on the moon.
3. Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering: Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology currently hosts this spectacular course perfect for budding aeronautical engineers, providing walkthroughs of essential topics like aerodynamics and flight performance.
4. The Conquest of Space: Primarily concerns the history of space exploration, fundamentals of aerospace engineering, and its future prospects. Conducted by the University of Madrid, Spain, this one is bound to leave you amazed.
5. Introduction to Aerodynamics: This X-Series program by MIT comprises two parts dealing with more involved topics like fluid mechanics and aircraft analysis.
6. Hypersonics: Join the University of Queensland, Australia, in an enthralling journey through the world of supersonic flight, covering all its rudimentary aspects like compressible flow and shock waves all the way to scramjet technology.
7. Aviation 101: This is certainly a must-take for anyone and everyone willing to learn about every field in aviation, including airports and air-traffic.
8. Airspace, Aviation Weather, or VFR Charts and Publications: These 3 mutually exclusive courses on ‘BOLDMETHOD’ are especially helpful for people yearning to experience what pilots do.
9. Earth Observation from Space: In this free online course by the European Space Agency (ESA), learn about the basic principles involved in satellite remote-sensing technology, from optical sensors to on-board data management, with some real-life examples to further augment your understanding.
10. Monitoring Climate from Space: ESA brings another informative course concerning the technologies used in satellite-based climate-change research and how it is carried out.

Additional technical courses (by NPTEL — National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning):

• Space-Flight Mechanics
• Aerospace Propulsion
• Control Systems
• Flight Dynamics — I and Flight Dynamics — II
• Introduction to Helicopter Aerodynamics and Dynamics
• Architecture and Systems Engineering — This course by MIT, NASA, and Boeing introduces complex systems and their management — especially useful for professionals in aerospace-related fields.

2. Some Excellent Blogs/Webpages to Follow:

• Astrome
• SATELLITES
• BOLDMETHOD
• The Verge — Aviation
• ScienceAlert (Aerospace, Aviation, and Spacecraft)
• ScienceABC — here and here
• HowStuffWorks (Aircraft and Spacecraft)
• Curiosity — Aviation and Spaceflight
• Cranky Flier
• NYCAviation
• Aerospace Engineering Blog
• Bangalore Aviation
• Royal Aeronautical Society (blog)
• Space Systems Design Studio
• Astronautics
• Spacecraft
• Cockpit Conversation

3. Universities That Offer Aerospace Eng.

Degrees in aerospace range from those in control systems, aircraft structures, satellite electronics, materials, and more. The following universities offer these courses as part of their undergraduate as well as postgraduate programs:

United States:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — Scholarships available.
2. Stanford University — Fellowships available.
3. Georgia Institute of Technology — Scholarships available.
4. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) — Fellowships/financial support available.
5. University of Michigan — Scholarships available.
6. Purdue University — Scholarships available.
7. University of Texas — Scholarships available.
8. University of Colorado — Scholarships available.
9. University of Illinois — Scholarships and fellowships available.
10. University of Maryland — Scholarships available.

UK:

1. University of Cambridge — Scholarships available.
2. Imperial College London — Scholarships available.
3. Bristol University — Financial support available.
4. University of Bath — Scholarships available.
5. University of Southampton — Scholarships available.
6. University of Surrey — Undergraduate and Postgraduate scholarships available.
7. University of Glasgow — Scholarships available — click here or here.
8. University of Nottingham — Undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships available.
9. Loughborough University — Scholarships available.
10. University of Sheffield — Scholarships available.

Australia:

1. Monash University — Scholarships available.
2. RMIT University — Scholarships available — here and here.
3. University of Queensland — Scholarships available — here and here.
4. University of Sydney — Scholarships available.
5. University of Adelaide — Bachelors and Masters — Scholarships available.

Other countries:

1. National University of Singapore (NUS) (Singapore) — Scholarships available.
2. University of Tokyo (Japan) — Scholarships available.
3. Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) — Ph.D. Scholarship available.
4. Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) — Bachelors and Masters — Scholarships available.
5. Tsinghua University (China) — Scholarships available.
6. Politecnico di Milano (Italy) — Scholarships available.
7. RWTH Aachen University (Germany) — Scholarships available.
8. Technical University of Munich (Germany) — Scholarships available.
9. University of Stuttgart (Germany) — B.Sc. and M.Sc. — Scholarships available.
10. University of Toronto (Canada) — Scholarships available.
11. Kyoto University (Japan) — Undergraduate and postgraduate courses — Scholarships available.
12. McGill University (Canada) — Scholarships available.

Indian Universities:

1. IIT Bombay (Mumbai)
2. IIT Kharagpur (West Bengal)
3. IIT Madras (Chennai)
4. IIT Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)
5. Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) (Thiruvananthapuram)
6. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) (Bangalore)
7. Madras Institute of Technology (Chennai)
8. IIAEM, Jain University (Bangalore)
9. Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology (Chennai)
10. Nehru College of Aeronautical and Applied Sciences (Coimbatore)

5. List Of Upcoming Events

• SAE Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies Symposium: Date: November 14th-16th, 2016 (U.S.A)
• SciTech 2017: Date: 9th to 13th January, 2017 (U.S.A)
• Aviation Industry Summit (2016): Date: 1st and 2nd December, 2016 (China)
• AeroTech Congress and Exhibition: Date: September 26th and 28th, 2017 (U.S.A)
• AVALON: 3rd to 5th March, 2017 (Australia)
• MRO:

India: 12th and 13th December, 2016

Mexico: 25th and 26th January, 2017

Dubai: 8th and 9th February, 2017

South Korea: 8th and 9th March, 2017

United States: 25th to 27th April, 2017

Netherlands: 18th to 20th October, 2017

Singapore: 31st October to 2nd November, 2017

• Aircraft Interiors EXPO: 4th to 6th April, 2017 (Germany)
• Metrology Asia 2017: 4th to 7th April, 2017 (Singapore)
• Rotorcraft Asia 2017: 18th to 20th April, 2017 (Singapore)
• Helitech International 2017: 3rd to 5th October, 2017 (London)
• Singapore Airshow: 6th to 11th February, 2018 (Singapore)
• 3rd Defence and Aerosupply: 30th November to 2nd December, 2016 (India)
• Paris Space Week 2017: 8th and 9th March, 2017 (Paris)
• Aero India 2017: 14th to 18th February, 2017 (India)
• AERO Friedrichshafen: 5th to 8th April, 2017 (Germany)
• Space Tech Expo:
• U.S.A: May 23rd to 25th, 2017
• Europe: October 24th to 26th, 2017
• International Paris Air Show 2017: 19th to 25th June, 2017 (Paris)
• Farnborough International Airshow: 20th to 22nd July, 2018 (England)

5. List Of Upcoming Competitions

• FLY YOUR IDEAS (by Airbus)
• AIAA Design Competition
• Student Design Competition: India (March 2017) and U.S.A (April 2017)
• Student Poster Competition: U.S.A (2nd to 4th October, 2017)
• Kshitij (IIT Kharagpur’s college fest): 27th to 29th January, 2017 (India)
• Techfest (IIT Bombay’s college fest): 16th to 18th December, 2016 (India)
• Shaastra (IIT Madras’ college fest): 31st December, 2016 to 3rd January, 2017 (India)
• Aerospace and Aircraft Design Competition 2017
• NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest 2017 (for students up to 18 years of age)

6. Scholarship/Fellowship Opportunities:

Have a rummage through a collection of scholarships/fellowships available in numerous places across the globe:

• Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) STEM Scholarship/Fellowship
• AIAA Foundation Scholarship
• Amelia Earhart Fellowship (for women only)
• Ohio Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) Scholarship
• Air League Engineering Scholarship
• Centennial Scholarships (Next year’s applications commence in May 2017)
• CFSR Grants in Science and Engineering
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (Deadline — October 2017)
• NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship for Fall 2017 (NSTRF17) (Deadline: November 3rd, 2016)
• Royal Commission Industrial Fellowship
• AR&DB Scholarship Scheme
• The VEST Scholarships

7. Internships

Part-time work experiences offer a vast exposure to industry, increasing the prospects of a permanent job in leading aerospace companies. Explore the list below for some fabulous student internship opportunities:

• USA — Engineering Intern Program — Boeing
• USA — Internships — Airbus Group
• USA — NASA Internships — Last date for application: March 1st, 2017
• USA — Summer Internship — Ball Aerospace
• USA — Internships — Lockheed Martin
• USA — Blue Origin Engineering Internship
• USA — Internships — The Aerospace Corporation
• USA — Summer Internship Program — B/E Aerospace
• USA — United Technologies Internship
• USA — Aerostructures Intern — Aurora Flight Sciences
• USA — Spacecraft Systems Engineering Intern — The Aerospace Corporation
• USA — Engineering Support Intern — Aerojet Rocketdyne
• USA — Technical Intern 2017 — Northrop Grumman
• USA — Engineering Internship — Honeywell
• USA — 2017 Summer Internship — Virgin Galactic
• USA — Summer Internship 2017 — SpaceX
• USA — NASA International Internship Program — Application Deadline: 31st December, 2016
• USA — Aerospace Summer Training and Research Opportunity — Deadline: March 3rd, 2017
• USA — Summer 2017 Intern Program — Generation Orbit — Deadline: 20th January, 2017
• UK — Graduate Summer Internship — Reaction Engines (Deadline: November 30th, 2016)
• UK — Technology Development Programme — Inmarsat
• UK — SSTL Internship — Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
• UK — Young Graduate Internship — European Space Agency (ESA)
• UK — Processor Systems Engineering Internship — Airbus — Application Deadline: December 9th, 2016
• AUSTRALIA — Summer Internship — BAE Systems

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