Missouri S&T Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - MAE

09/10/2026

Meet our newest MAE faculty members! 👋

⚙️ Dr. Braden McLain specializes in advanced manufacturing, machine vision and metal additive manufacturing.

🚀 Dr. Siva Kumar Valluri brings expertise in shock physics, energetic materials, hypersonic flow and materials under extreme conditions.

Please join us in welcoming them to Missouri S&T!

Read more at https://maenews.mst.edu/featured/missouri-sts-mae-department-welcomes-new-faculty-members-3/

08/17/2026

A new partnership is creating a more accessible path to an engineering degree!

Through the Cooperative Engineering Pathway Program, students can complete their first two years at Southeast Missouri State University before transferring to Missouri S&T to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, civil or electrical engineering.

Launching this fall, the program will provide coordinated curriculum, advising and student support to help students transition successfully to S&T.

Learn more: https://news.mst.edu/featured/missouri-st-semo-establish-engineering-partnership/

Missouri S&T and Southeast Missouri State University have established a new partnership that will provide students with a streamlined pathway to engineering degrees while expanding access to engineering education in southeast Missouri. ...Continue Reading Missouri S&T, SEMO establish engine...

07/21/2026

We’re hiring!

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Missouri S&T is seeking a skilled and motivated Research Engineering Technician II to join our team.

In this hands-on role, you’ll fabricate precision components and prototype systems for research laboratories, instructional activities and student design teams. You’ll work closely with faculty, staff and students while using manual and CNC machining equipment to help turn innovative engineering concepts into reality.

📍 Rolla, Missouri
🕒 Full-time
💰 Anticipated hiring range: $22.10–$31.50 per hour
🔎 Job ID: 60212

Official apply link: https://erecruit.umsystem.edu/psc/tamext/ROLLA/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&Action=U&SiteId=2&FOCUS=Applicant&JobOpeningId=60212&PostingSeq=1

Learn more: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4442657714/

Posted 4:38:14 PM. Hiring DepartmentMechanical & Aerospace Engineering The Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.

07/21/2026

From the lab to the fire line 🔥

Missouri S&T doctoral students Matik Heskin and Adam Boland are no strangers to extreme conditions. In their research, Heskin studies high-temperature materials for turbine engines and hypersonic vehicles, while Boland uses computer simulations to explore how spacecraft enter atmospheres such as those of Mars and Venus.

Outside the lab, the friends and roommates serve their community as state-certified volunteer firefighters with the Rolla Rural Fire Department.

Learn how these mechanical and aerospace engineering students balance graduate research with answering emergency calls:
https://news.mst.edu/2026/05/from-the-lab-to-the-fire-line-two-st-students-chase-the-heat/

Before dawn or in the middle of a busy day, Matik Heskin and Adam Boland might drop everything at a moment’s notice. One minute, they’re doctoral students at Missouri S&T. The next, they’re volunteer firefighters with the Rolla Rural Fire Department.

06/03/2026

Back-to-back world champions! 🏆

Missouri S&T’s Mars Rover Design Team won the University Rover Challenge for the second consecutive year, competing against 35 teams from across the U.S. and around the world at the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah.

The team’s rover, Athena, earned a final score of 469.57 — more than 50 points ahead of second place — with perfect scores in both the equipment servicing and delivery missions.

Congratulations to the entire team on this incredible achievement!

Read more: https://news.mst.edu/2026/06/missouri-sts-mars-rover-design-team-wins-university-rover-challenge-for-second-year-in-a-row/

The Mars Rover Design Team at Missouri University of Science and Technology has won the University Rover Challenge for the second consecutive year, after competing against 35 teams from across the country and around the world.

05/21/2026

Missouri S&T’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering helped bring engineering to life for approximately 800 elementary school students during STEM Day.

MAE ambassadors, faculty and student teams led hands-on activities featuring robotics, aerospace systems, circuits, lab demonstrations and more. Students interacted with a VR escape room robot, a ball-launching robot, a drivable robotic car and robotic arms through the KUKA Robotics Lab team. Faculty members Dr. Davide Viganò, Dr. Jill Schmidt and Dr. Hank Pernicka also welcomed students into labs for wind tunnel, satellite and circuit-related activities.

Thank you to our MAE ambassadors, the KUKA Robotics Lab team, Rolla High School’s FIRST Tech Robotics Team and all who helped inspire the next generation of engineers!

Read more: https://maenews.mst.edu/featured/mae-ambassadors-faculty-and-student-teams-support-missouri-st-stem-day/

Missouri S&T’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering helped bring engineering to life for approximately 800 elementary school students during STEM Day, held on campus for kindergarten through sixth-grade students. MAE faculty, student ambassadors and student teams participated in ...

05/18/2026

Missouri S&T’s chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau, the national honor society for aerospace engineering, is taking flight again after a six-year pause.

With support from Dr. David Bayless and Dr. Donna Jennings, the revitalized chapter initiated 19 students as its first new class in six years. Members have already made an impact through community outreach, department service and events that bring MAE students, faculty and staff together.

The chapter is also looking ahead, with plans to expand industry engagement, organize trips to aerospace conferences and create more networking opportunities for high-performing aerospace engineering students.

Read more: https://maenews.mst.edu/featured/sigma-gamma-tau-aerospace-honor-society-takes-flight-again-at-missouri-st/

Missouri S&T’s chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau, the national honor society for aerospace engineering, is taking flight again after a six-year pause. The revitalization effort, initiated by Dr. David Bayless, chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering, sought to rebuild the organization following...

05/13/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Ming C. Leu, Keith and Pat Bailey Missouri Professor and Curators’ Distinguished Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, on being named Missouri S&T’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

In this campuswide leadership role, Dr. Leu will support strategic research initiatives, assist faculty with major research proposals, provide oversight of sponsored programs and proposal development, and help strengthen interdisciplinary and industry partnerships.

An internationally recognized leader in additive manufacturing, smart manufacturing, intelligent robotics, artificial intelligence and cyber-physical systems, Dr. Leu has contributed nearly 45 years of academic leadership and innovation.

Read more: https://maenews.mst.edu/featured/dr-ming-leu-named-associate-vice-chancellor-for-research-and-innovation/

Dr. Ming C. Leu, the Keith and Pat Bailey Missouri Professor and Curators’ Distinguished Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T, has been appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. He will begin his new duties Monday, June 1. “I am both honore...

05/12/2026

Missouri S&T researchers are helping aerospace engineers better understand what happens inside supersonic wind tunnels — where air can move up to four times faster than the speed of sound.

Dr. Davide Viganò, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, developed a physics-based computational model that more accurately predicts wind tunnel conditions by accounting for heat transfer, pressure losses and other factors. His model reduced the difference between predicted and measured temperatures from roughly 10% to less than 2%.

The study was published in The Aeronautical Journal and included Noah Cain, a 2024 Missouri S&T aerospace engineering graduate, who contributed to the research as a Dean’s Undergraduate Research Scholar.

Read more: https://news.mst.edu/2026/05/supersonic-success-st-scholars-sharpen-wind-tunnel-simulations/

Researchers at Missouri S&T have developed a more accurate way to predict conditions inside wind tunnels that are used to study how air behaves at speeds up to four times faster than the speed of sound, or over 3,000 miles per hour.

05/07/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Fateme Fayyazbakhsh, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T, on receiving the Wound Healing Society’s 2026 Early-Career Faculty Award.

The award recognizes early-career faculty advancing research in wound healing and supporting continued professional growth. Fayyazbakhsh was unanimously selected by the society’s executive committee as one of two recipients for 2026.

Her research focuses on smart biomaterials, bioprinting, transdermal drug delivery systems, AI-powered diagnostics for wound care and bioastronautics — exploring how conditions in space affect human health and healing.

Read more: https://news.mst.edu/2026/04/missouri-st-professor-receives-wound-healing-societys-early-career-faculty-award/

Dr. Fateme Fayyazbakhsh, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T, was awarded the Wound Healing Society’s 2026 Early-Career Faculty Award during the organization’s annual meeting held earlier this month in Charlotte, North Carolina.