Department of Aerospace Engineering

Chairs Message

Our department has exciting educational programs in aerodynamics, aerospace structures, propulsion, flight mechanics and guidance as well as space systems with a lot of hands-on experience in the classroom and out of the classroom.

Our faculty and their students conduct cutting-edge research in nondestructive evaluation, computational fluid dynamics, wind engineering and experimental aerodynamics, guidance and control, aircraft icing, rotorcraft/UAV/MAV, turbine science and technology, and micro/nano mechanics of materials.

Our department has had the privilege to educate some of the most accomplished and distinguished leaders of industry, government, and academia.  These include former Chairman of the Board of Boeing, retired Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, an astronaut, ... (see  our  alumni page).

Our department has 28 faculty members with 2 members of the National Academy of Engineering (1 emeritus), about $9.8 million annual research expenditures.

The department is housed in a $31 million state-of-the-art teaching and research complex.

Ames is the 2nd most livable small city in the nation [New Rating Guide to Life in America’s Small Cities]. You can bike to class during the day and to world-class cultural events at night.