Aerospace Engineering

Field Description

The program emphasizes balance in aerospace science and technology, both basic and applied, to prepare students for the diverse opportunities at the frontiers of research, in contemporary industrial development, and in government agencies. The faculty is particularly strong and active in aerospace vehicle dynamics and feedback control, wind energy, celestial mechanics, the Global Positioning System, and spacecraft systems engineering, as well as in basic aerosciences including transonic flows, turbulence, nonequilibrium gas dynamics, unsteady and vortical flows, combustion processes, transport processes in microgravity and chemical kinetics.

Aerospace vehicle dynamics and control: Modeling, analysis, theoretical investigations, and applied technology development related to the flight mechanics of spacecraft and air vehicles and motivated by contemporary problems relevant to the private and public sectors; flight experiments and mission operations of spacecraft in Earth orbit and beyond; numerical and experimental investigation of autonomous air vehicles, mechatronics architectures that enable advanced flight technologies.

Wind energy: Basic and applied studies of wind-energy systems, including multiscale aerodynamics, coupled fluid/structure interactions, meteorological implications for on-and off-shore wind energy, energy-output prediction for turbines and other technologies, instrumentation and remote sensing for design and siting of wind farms; wind-energy harvesting through non-traditional approaches such as aeroelastic effects.

Celestial mechanics: Kinematics and dynamics of orbital motion for planetary bodies and spacecraft; behaviors of orbiting bodies among subtle gravitational sources, such as asteroids; design of trajectories and timing for space-exploration applications.

Global Positioning System: Estimation of GPS-based position and velocity through realtime algorithms; characterization of the Earth's ionosphere, atmosphere, and surface processes through analysis of GPS signals; design and implementation of software-defined radios as GPS receivers; high-precision navigation of spacecraft formations.

Spacecraft systems engineering: Conceiving, designing, implementing and operating space systems, which includes individual spacecraft as well as formations, constellations, and swarms; analysis of and innovation in spacecraft architectures, including Earth-observing satellites; studies in reliability, manufacturability, operability, and other features of contemporary space-system concepts.

Basic aerosciences: Studies in transonic flows, turbulence, nonequilibrium gas dynamics, unsteady and vortical flows, combustion processes, transport processes in microgravity, and chemical kinetics; modeling and simulation of aerospace fluid systems; development of predictive tools, such as computational fluid-dynamics codes; applications include design of aircraft, analysis and optimization of propulsion and aircraft power plants; fluid/thermal behaviors in combustion systems.

The Ph.D. program provides advanced levels of training suitable for students pursuing careers in research and development, education, or government service. The field does not admit students into an M.S.-only degree program; applicants may apply for the Ph.D. program with a bachelor's degree. Ph.D. students must take a qualifying examination in addition to the examinations required by the Graduate School. Typically the qualifying exam is taken at the end of the first semester for students entering with a Master's degree and at the end of the first two semesters for those entering with a Bachelor's degree. Teaching experience for two semesters is required of Ph.D. students.

The professional degree of Master of Engineering (Aerospace) provides a one-year course of study for those who want to develop a high level of competence in current technology and engineering design and who plan to practice engineering in industry or professionally. The program has a thirty-credit curriculum and requires an engineering design project.

Contact Information

Website: https://www.mae.cornell.edu/mae/programs/graduate-programs
Email: maephd@cornell.edu
Phone: 607 255-5250

130 Upson Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

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Manual

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