Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

09/10/2026

Congratulations to 5 AAE alumni who were awarded the Purdue Engineering award! Nomination-based, with final recipients determined by a selection committee, the award celebrates the professional dedication, rise to leadership, and field impact these young alumni exemplify.

Recognized Alumni:

Alexandra Dukes
Brandon Kan
Greg McKiernan
Allissa Noffke
Emily Petersen

Read more here: https://buff.ly/uxbLls0

09/09/2026

Purdue inspires around the world! While visiting his hometown in the foothills of Himalayas in northern India earlier this year, visiting assistant professor Pankaj Joshi (center) stopped in at the Government Inter College Dhaina. He talked with students there about aerospace engineering and Purdue's legacy in aerospace, leaving with them a poster of Purdue's astronaut alumni and memories of building and flying paper ✈. To his right is his host, Mr. Neelendra Kumar Singh, the school's principal.

09/09/2026

Did you hear? Undergraduate Engineering dropped the first installment of a new video series. Introducing “College,” a four-part mockumentary about the experience. Follow Nina and the friends she makes along the way to see how AAE students like yourselves can make the most of your time at Purdue.

Episode 1 is out! Watch now: https://buff.ly/IW9ZH4D

09/08/2026

Congratulations to Shriya Thote (MSM ’26), a former Purdue AAE marketing intern who just started her new role as a Market Research and Marketing Insights Specialist at The Ohio State University.

"Working with Aero has opened so many doors for me in my career, and I’m genuinely grateful," she says.

Shriya came to work with AAE through a partnership with prof. Jinsuh Lee, from the marketing program in the Purdue Daniels School of Business. She practiced storytelling, graphic design, social media and email campaigns, and much more under the guidance of AAE’s marketing and communications director Alan Cesar. She’s now putting those skills to work in her next giant leap.

09/04/2026

"You are in a very rigorous curriculum here. You're being taught to solve problems and work hard. If you take that skill and work ethic to the workforce, you're going to blow people away. That's a superpower you all have."
-David Beering (BSEE '85, MSEE '87), principal/owner of Intelligent Designs and Outstanding ECE Alumnus, speaking with AAE students today.

09/03/2026

Chenkai Zhang (BSAAE '24, MSAAE '25) is engineering at full speed. 🏁

From leading aerodynamics development for Purdue Formula SAE to completing an industrial placement with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Zhang built the hands-on experience that helped launch his career in Formula 1.

Now at Red Bull Racing, he helps develop aerodynamic components where even the smallest performance gains can make a difference. This weekend, his team will take on the Italian Grand Prix

Read more about Zhang's journey here: https://buff.ly/xF4Xw0W

09/02/2026

There's nothing quite so satisfying as a cold treat on a hot day. Students, faculty and staff filled the Armstrong atrium today for the grad student ice cream social. Cheers!

09/02/2026

Pilotless aircraft? Yeah, we do that. AIAA says these technologies are among the most likely to transform aerospace in the next 20 years.

“Purdue is involved in all areas: From designing the vehicles to building the algorithms that will fly them autonomously. Our research is working on precision positioning and tracking all the way down to even preparing current pilots to operate UAVs and drones,” says Bill Crossley, AAE professor and department head.

That approach is reflected at research centers across the university. At the Center for AI for Digital, Autonomous and Augmented Aviation (AIDA3) faculty and students are developing the technologies needed to safely integrate autonomous aircraft into the National Airspace System.

Those ideas are put into practice at the Purdue UAS Research and Test Facility (PURT), where researchers test autonomous systems using a motion-capture system 100 times more accurate than GPS. Students also gain hands-on experience through UAV competitions and workshops.

09/01/2026

First-year Purdue AAE Ph.D. Katie Hart was among 33 Purdue students recognized through the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program in 2026.

After receiving an honorable mention in 2024 and spending a year serving overseas, she earned the prestigious fellowship to support her research in additive manufacturing of energetic materials, under assistant professor Monique McClain.

Read more here: https://buff.ly/nxgCg0r

08/31/2026