AE Department News

January 2023

Madison Forseth

Madison Forseth was selected for the prestigious Brooke Owens Fellowship. Forseth was one of 47 students selected internationally this year and will intern with Ball Aerospace. The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a nationally-acclaimed nonprofit program recognizing exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship, and a lifelong professional network.

 

August 2020

San José State University ranks No. 1 in Money’s Most Transformative Colleges list for 2020. Photo: David SchmitzSan José State University ranks No. 1 in Money’s Most Transformative Colleges list out of 700 universities in the United States for 2020. Money magazine determines these rankings based on over 20,000 data points with the following factors: tuition fees, familiy borrowing, and career earnings. With a previous score of 124, SJSU now has an astounding overall ranking of 24, along with other incredible data, landing SJSU the #1 spot in Money magazines ranking list! With the circumstances 2020 has brought upon the SJSU community, SJSU continues to provide access to quality education to many students and famillies facing financial burdens. To learn more, visit SJSU ranked #1 "Most Transformative College" in the Nation by Money and also check out other SJSU rankings.

March 2019

Mentoring Program at Monroe Middle SchoolDuring the month of March 2019, a collaboration between DeAnza College Engineering Club students, San José State University (SJSU) Aerospace Engineering Honor Society (Sigma Gamma Tau) students, and the non-profit My Mentor Tree carried out an engineering mentoring program at Monroe Middle School. The college students mentored middle school students through engineering hands-on activities under the leadership of Manizheh Zand. The SJSU Aerospace Engineering (AE) department sponsored Kyle Pioroda and Eric Del Medico to do a Rocket Project, while Engineering Club at De Anza College created Arduino lessons using Sno-Pixels. Check out our SJSU AE students inspiring future generations of
rocket scientists!

March 4, 2019

AE Alumni AE alumna Ali Guarneros-Luna featured in 2019 WiSE Conference Highlights.  The Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Conference is an annual event hosted by Texas State University’s College of Science and Engineering that aims to encourage women to pursue STEM as an exciting and fulfilling educational and career choice. This year’s conference on March 8 will feature Sarah Evans as the keynote speaker and Ali Guarneros Luna as the plenary speaker. Find out more information.

February 26, 2019

Commendation for TechEdSat TeamThe San Jose City Council presented a commendation to the Technology Educational Satellite team about its first launch, the TechEdSat-8 [pdf]. The team consisted of eight members: Ali Guarneros Luna, Elias T. Reyes, Austin Tanner, Alejandro Salas, Cedric Priscal, Nicolas S. Williams, Reine Dominque Ntone, Bernardo Soriano-Gama, Khoa Ngo, Jesus Ramiro Rosila Mares, Roberto Rosila, Nanci Solomon, Robert Bruce, and Zachary M. Huges. Dr. Papadopoulos and Dr. Marcus Mucbach, along with the Vice President for Organizational Development & Strategic Initatives Jaye Bailey, oversaw the project.

February 26, 2019

Congratulations to Sarah Ortega, who is selected as an SJSU Student Research Competition finalist with her presentation titled "Exploring a Hybrid Design for a Short to Medium Range Transport Aircraft." She will be representing SJSU at the CSU Student Research Competition held in late April. To learn more, visit the Office of Research's page.

February 23, 2019

Kayla Parcero receives scholarship at Silicon Valley Engineering Council BanquetMs. Kayla Parcero, AE senior and Chair of the local AIAA Chapter, receives an Education Scholarship Award in recognition of outstanding professional activity in engineering and community service at the 30th Annual Silicon Valley Engineering Council Banquet.

January 31, 2019

TechEdSat Team prepares to launchSJSU Aerospace Engineering alumni and current Aerospace Engineering students along side with Dr. Periklis Papadopoulos launched a technology education satellite after countless days and nights of diligent work. The successful launch from the International Space Station marked the beginning of a wave of research and information that the satellite is to provide. More information about the achievement can be found on SJSU Newsroom.

February 06, 2018

Falcon Heavy launch on ABC NewsToday marked an important milestone in spaceflight: SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon Heavy rocket, landing two booster rockets safely back on earth and launching a Tesla Roadster into heliocentric orbit.  AE Professor Dr. Periklis Papadopulous and Graduate Student Justin Ancheta comment on this monumental achievement in this interview on ABC 7 News.

May 2017

Sultan Qaboos UniversityDr. Mourtos delivered two workshops on critical thinking skills and alternative teaching methods to faculty at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman.  Faculty, department chairs and associate deans worked together to re-design their courses, ensuring student development in critical thinking, problem-solving, design, communication, lifelong learning, teamwork, change management, and self-assessment skills.  Sultan Qaboos University has grown from 500 students in 1986 to more than 7000 in fields including medicine, engineering, agriculture, education, science, arts, commerce, economics, law and nursing.

April 28, 2017

Studens at Hiller Aviation MuseumSJSU AE Propulsion students visit Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, CA for a first-hand look at a Pratt & Whitney JT9D-1GT2 turbofan engine, a Westinghouse J46-WE-8 axial flow jet engine, and a variety of radial piston engines.  Special thanks to Professor Murbach for organizing the event and to Hiller volunteer and retired engine designer John for the introduction.

April 21-23, 2017

DBF Cronus 2Team Cronus II takes 10th place in the highly competitive international design competition Design-Build-Fly organized by AIAA.

Congratulations to team members (from left) RC Pilot and SJSU Alum Norio Eda, Professor Gonzalo Mendoza, Andrew Covel, Royd Johansen, Dan Winter, Aaron Ford, Samneet Singh. 

Special thanks to superhero Professor Mendoza for making SJSU AE a top contender in DBF for  many years and guiding this year's seniors to  another successful finish!

April 20, 2017

Graduate student Tara Samuels awarded the Scott T. Axline Memorial Student Award for Excellence in Service at the College of Engineering Awards Banquet.  Tara was also recently awarded the Society for Women Engineers Mary G. Ross Scholarship Award, an endowed scholarship in memory of Lockheed's first female engineer.

April 15, 2017

Rocket Launch 2017SJSU AE students successfully launched 21(!!) rockets today. Congratulations to Alexander Baek for his Level 1 High Performance Rocket certifications and to David Chau on his impressive Level 2 HPR certification.  Way to go Spartans!

March 10-12, 2017

SAE 2017Team Hermes represents SJSU at SAE Aero Design West in Fort Worth, TX.  The Hermes Phantom placed 6th out of 70 competitors in Presentation and flew beautifully but lost points in the Flight category due to a crash.

Congratulations to team members (left to right): Needa Lin, Allen McDivitt, Yibo Challinger, Atharv Datye, Ronald Cheng, Dat Nguyen, Team Advisor Professor Mendoza, and Pang Vang.  Look for their aircraft, The Phantom, in Eng 164.

January 9-13, 2017

Graduate students Matt Miller, Brian Graham and Eric Wahl present research papers at the AIAA SciTech Conference in Grapevine, TX. The AIAA SciTech Forum is the single most important event for anyone involved in aerospace research and development.

January 11, 2017

Samneet SinghSenior Samneet Singh discusses aerospace engineering with Sophomores at Dav High Schoolin Ludhiana in Punjab, India, encouraging them to study STEM subjects.  Well done Samneet!

January 6, 2017

Atharv Datye at HillerSenior Atharv Datye teaches kids ages 5-14 about airplanes at Hiller Aviation Museum. During this winter's aviation camp, kids learned how to fly, perform a pattern and land a Cessna 172 on flight simulators. Now they know how planes work too. Way to go, Atharv!

December 2016

Seruvizhi Maharajan and Arvind SrilathaLove is in the air.  We couldn't be happier for our alumni, Seruvizhi Maharajan (MSAE 2014) and Arvind Srilatha (MSAE 2012), who were married in a gorgerous traditional Indian ceremony in December 2016.

Seruvizhi and Arvind, we send you both our warmest wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous journey together!

December 16, 2016

NASA Supercomputing Tour NASA Ames Branch Chief, Dr. Cetin Kiris, and Engineering Servers and Services Manager and SJSU AE graduate student, Ted Bohrer, led SJSU AE students on a tour of the Ames' supercomputing facility.

The group was treated to a presentation of several impressive earth, aircraft, rotorcraft, and parachute CFD simulations, as well as Ames' world-class computing storage facility.

Thank you NASA for your continued support of SJSU AE students!

November 30, 2016

Mark TischlerGuest Speaker Dr. Mark Tischler, Senior Scientist at US Army/ NASA Ames, discusses Flight Controls with SJSU AE students.

November 17, 2016

AIAA hosts SpaceX employee information session.

November 16, 2016

Senior Stephanie Hadley interviews former Lockheed Martin Corporate Astronaut Leslie Wickman.

October 15, 2016

Rocket Club membersRocket Club members successfully launched 5 rockets today totaling 12,000 vertical feet. Congratulations to Ronald Cheng, Joseph Rodriguez [R], Peter Wu [L] and Jeff Zhang on their Level 1 High Performance Rocket certifications and to Atharv Datye [Center] on his impressive Level 2 HPR certification.  Special thanks to Graduate Student Andrew Torricelli for leading the group!

September 23, 2016

Congratulations to our AE Engineering Scholarship Award Winners!

Brandon Arias - Parisi Family Scholar
Fadi Bakour - Silicon Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scholarship
Stephanie Hadley - National Science Foundation Engineering Leadership Pathway Scholar
Royd Johansen - Lockheed Martin Scholar
Joel Lucatero - Harry Wong Scholar
Jared Sagaga - Silicon Valley Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scholarship

August 10, 2016

Waves PresentationDr. Mourtos delivers workshop on waves (Next Generation Science Standards) for science teachers (STEM Creates video from 2:45-3:55) at New Haven Unified School District.  The workshop was part of the California Mathematics & Science Partnership Program directed by Dr. Virginia  Lehmkuhl Dakhwe, Director of the SJSU Jay Pinson STEM Education Program.

August 2016

Senior Roberto Rosila participates in the 10,000-mile Mongol Rally for charity in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in a 1970 classic Mini Cooper.

June 2016

Aerospace AmericaAerospace America [pdf], a publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics featured SJSU's Design-Build-Fly team Cronus in their June 2016 edition, distinguishing SJSU as a "perennial top contender".  SJSU has taken first place in the competition multiple times, against top aerospace engineering schools around the world.

April 2016

Professor Mendoza featured on Wichita Eagle for his role in coaching SJSU's Team Cronus to a first place win in the AIAA 2016 Design-Build-Fly Competition.

April 2016

Professor Murbach (PI) and Dr. Papadopoulos (Co-PI) collaborate on the development of on-demand sample return capability (SPQR) TechEdSat-4 at NASA Ames Research Center.

April 28, 2016

Zaid Karajeh receiving awardSenior Zaid Karajeh receives the 2016 Donald Beall-Rockwell Award for Engineering Accomplishment. Congratulations to Zaid!

Zaid is the founder, president, and team lead of Spartan Imagineering. He formed the team to compete in the Disney Imaginations competition [pdf]. His team developed a clean and energy efficient overhead monorail system for the city of Toronto that ran on steam power. Their project made it to the finals of the competition.

April 17, 2016

Team CronusAircraft design team Cronus won 1st Place in the highly competitive international design competition Design-Build-Fly organized by AIAA. This is the second time that SJSU's aircraft design students have won this competiition. The first time was in 2013, also under the guidance of Prof. Mendoza.

Congratulations to team members: John Paul de la Cruz, Androw Yany, Tyler Sanders, Chris Dickason, Kevin Surban and Roshan Patel. The AE Juniors who supported them: Michael Gwinner, Landon Murray, Samneet Singh, and Richard Sok. Thank you to Professor Mendoza for his excellent work in AE 171 A&B! More details in this nail-biting competition summary.

March 12, 2016

Graduate student Tara Samuels receives the American Airlines Engineering Scholarship Award. The winner was selected on the basis of academic standing, personal accomplishments, teamwork, leadership skills, community service involvement and future career aspirations. Congrats to Tara!

March 7, 2016

SOAREX #9 launched successfully. Professor Murbach is the PI of the SOAREX Flight Series.

February 19, 2016

Professor Soukeras is elected Chairman of the Board of the Hellenic Aviation Society.

May 2015

Dr Mourtos in OmanFollowing a successful workshop at the World Engineering Education Forum in Dubai in December 2014, Dr. Mourtos was invited to deliver a three-day workshop on Engineering Course Design at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Over 100 engineering faculty and administrators participated in the workshop.