A group of Purdue University students will participate in a SpaceX Hyperloop pod competition to help design test vehicles for a vacuum-tube transit system proposed by inventor and business magnate Elon Musk.

The students are taking a Hyperloop design class that will end on Thursday (Dec. 10) with a 5 p.m. public lecture in Fowler Hall by Josh Giegel, vice president of design and analysis for Hyperloop Technologies Inc. He also will meet with the Purdue design team.

School of Aeronautics and Astronautics associate professor Dr. Vikas Tomar has had a book published by Springer. “Multiscale Characterization of Biological Systems” is based on work Dr. Tomar has done with his students over the past 10 years in the field of interface mechanics of biomaterials.

A fascination originating in a European comic book has taken off for Timothée Pourpoint, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics, resulting in his career in studying propulsion, combustion and energy storage.

Now Pourpoint, a 38-year-old native of France, is working hand-in-hand with students and fellow faculty to help Indiana residents celebrate the state's history by creating a torch for next year's bicentennial relay.

Kathleen C. Howell, the Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, was honored at a reception earlier this month as the winner of the 2015 Violet Haas Award.
The Violet Haas Award "recognizes those individuals, programs, or departments at Purdue who have effectively facilitated the advancement of women in hiring, promotion, education, and salary, or have generally enhanced a positive professional climate for women at Purdue University," according to the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence, which administers the award.

AAE Associate Professor, Jonathan Poggie, won a grant of 150 million CPU-Hours per year for two years on Argonne National Laboratory's supercomputer, Mira, the fifth largest in the world.

The 20th annual Purdue Space Day took place on Sunday, October 25th with guest VIP Buzz Aldrin.

The passing of Dick Taylor should be mourned by all who are involved in aviation; for he was unusual, if not unique, in his mastery of all phases of our business— academic training, a pilot in WWII, an aircraft designer, a test pilot, a business executive, an able translator of airplane operations into effective regulations, a record-holding GA pilot, aviation honoree, a patron of aviation history and a great father/grandfather. Hopefully, there are other Dick Taylor’s out there who can emulate his exceptional achievements.

Prof. Alexeenko is offering Purdue University's first ever Hyperloop Design class based on SpaceX competition. The course, which began this August, requires students to design a passenger capsule for the transportation system that can travel at nearly sonic speeds in a vacuum tube.

During the 2015 summer months, four AAE Undergraduate students took part in a study abroad research experience at Technical University Braunschweig (TUB), located in Braunschweig, Germany. Aleksandra Dervisevic, Noah Gold, Jay Millane, and Andres Velez-Valencia participated in independent research opportunities and had the opportunity to choose a research project that covered one or more of the five AAE program concentrations: Aerodynamics, Design, Propulsion, Dynamics and Control, and Structures. Upon successful completion of the research experience, students gained six hours of technical elective credit and three hours of general elective credit towards their plan of study.