AAE Prof. Wayne Chen has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Technology by Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland “in recognition of significant contributions to the research of the behaviour of high deformation rates in materials as well as long-standing collaboration in research and technological development in the field of materials science.”

Emily (Birkhauser) Terrell graduated with a BSAAE in 2000. After working for Boeing for a little more than a year, she decided to go to law school. Emily currently works as an attorney in Washington, D.C., representing companies in technology-related fields.

Benjamin Vernhes is the recipient of the 2017 Herbert F. Rogers Award. The honor is given annually to a senior who is “deemed the most worthy and deserving as determined by her/his contributions to the growth of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in fostering engineering as an academic discipline.”

Associate Professor Jonathan Poggie was recently quoted in an Aviation Week article about NASA's crowd source challenge to speed up the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FUN3D. Poggie's current CFD research includes a project on the effect of facility noise on hypersonic laminar-turbulent transition and a project on understanding and controlling separation unsteadiness in supersonic turbulent flow.

AAE Professor Kathleen has been selected to receive the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Elmer F. Bruhn Award for 2017. The award is presented annually to an outstanding teacher in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The winner is selected by the AAE undergraduate student body.

AAE Prof. Vikas Tomar was selected for the annual C. T. Sun School of Aeronautics & Astronautics Excellence in Research Award. The honor is presented to an individual or a team of faculty members in the Purdue University School of Aeronautics & Astronautics to recognize high quality contributions in science and engineering.

AAE alumna Dr. Yen Matsutomi represented the Blue Origin New Shepard team at the competition for the 2016 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The Blue Shepard won the award, which is presented annually by the National Aeronautic Association.

For more than two years, AAE students in Prof. Collicott's Zero-Gravity Flight Experiment class have helped West Lafayette second graders perfect an experiment testing whether the Say’s Firefly can glow in a zero-gravity environment. A rocket with the experiment is expected to launch later this year.

A new book series from Purdue University Press will explore cutting-edge topics in aeronautics and astronautics enterprises, tell unique stories from the history of flight and space travel and contemplate the future of human space exploration and colonization.

AAE Associate Prof. Dominick Andrisani is retiring after 37 years of service to the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. A retirement reception in his honor was held April 27, 2017 in the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering.