The introduction of a new minor in Aerospace Engineering opens the door for students looking to pursue a career in the aerospace industry.
The Aerospace Engineering minor, originally approved by the College Curriculum Committee at UR in Spring 2024, officially began in Fall 2024, providing students with foundational and hands-on aerospace courses.
It includes four new courses aimed at the aerospace engineering program: Intro to Aerospace Engineering, Aerodynamics, Advanced Dynamics, and Aerospace Structures. All are taught by Mechanical Engineering professors.
The creation of this minor comes as a natural progression for the mechanical engineering department.
“More than one half of our department faculty do research in areas related to aerospace engineering: turbulence, fluid dynamics (experimental and computational), advanced controls and dynamics for planetary exploration, advanced energy sources (nuclear fusion), and structural mechanics,” Professor of Mechanical Engineering John Lambropoulos explained. “It is easy to see that this is an area of strength at UR.”
This minor is compatible with students already pursuing an engineering degree but is also open to all students, with the main difference being that non-engineering students are required to take a mechanical engineering course as one of their four required courses.
The introduction of this minor also comes as a response to a growing interest in aerospace engineering from prospective students.
Lambropoulos explains, “There is a broad interest in aerospace technology, based on developments from NASA on space exploration. [from] Companies like Space-X, satellite communications, air transportation [like] Boeing, AirBus and the constant presence of defense-related and commercial developments on aerospace technology.”
The most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook noted a 6% predicted increase in employment for aerospace engineering from 2023 to 2033, which rapidly outpaces the national average. The Greene Center’s Career Outcomes project also shows a steady increase in engineering graduates working in the aerospace industry since 2016.
Despite that increase, there are no current plans to develop a major in Aerospace Engineering for undergraduate students, though a new master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering was recently submitted to the NYS Education Department for approval in Summer 2024 and is expected to be offered in Fall 2025.
