Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering (Course 16)

专业详情

This program is designed to prepare the graduate for an entry-level position in aerospace and related fields and for further education at the master’s level; it is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The program includes an opportunity for a year’s study abroad.

The formal learning in the program builds a conceptual understanding in the foundational engineering sciences and professional subjects that span the topics critical to aerospace. This learning takes place within the engineering context of conceiving-designing-implementing-operating (CDIO) aerospace and related complex high-performance systems and products. The skills and attributes emphasized go beyond the formal classroom curriculum and include modeling, design, the ability for self-education, computer literacy, communication and teamwork skills, ethics, and—underlying all of these—appreciation for and understanding of interfaces and connectivity between various disciplines. Opportunities for formal and practical (hands-on) learning in these areas are integrated into the departmental subjects through examples set by the faculty, subject content, and the ability for substantive engagement in the CDIO process in the department’s Learning Laboratory for Complex Systems.

The curriculum includes the General Institute Requirements (GIRs) and the departmental program, which covers a fall-spring-fall sequence of subjects called Unified Engineering, subjects in dynamics and principles of automatic control, a statistics and probability subject, a subject in computers and programming, professional area subjects, an experimental project laboratory, and a capstone design subject. The program also includes subject 18.03 Differential Equations.

Unified Engineering is offered in sets of two 12-unit subjects in two successive terms. These subjects are taught cooperatively by several faculty members. Their purpose is to introduce new students to the disciplines and methodologies of aerospace engineering at a basic level, with a balanced exposure to analysis, empirical methods, and design. The areas covered include statics, materials, and structures; thermodynamics and propulsion; fluid mechanics; and signals and systems. Several laboratory experiments are performed and a number of systems problems tying the disciplines together and exemplifying the CDIO process are included.

Unified Engineering is usually taken in the sophomore year, 16.09 Statistics and Probability in the spring of the sophomore year, and the subjects 16.07 Dynamics and 16.06 Principles of Automatic Control respectively in the first and second term of the junior year. Subjects 6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science Programming in Python and 6.0002 Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science can be taken at any time, starting in the first year of undergraduate study, but the fall term of the sophomore year is recommended.

The professional area subjects offer a more complete and in-depth treatment of the materials introduced in the core courses. Students must take four subjects (48 units) from among the professional area subjects, with subjects in at least three areas. Students may choose to complete an option in Aerospace Information Technology by taking at least 36 of the 48 required units from a designated group of subjects specified in the degree chart.

Professional area subjects in the four areas of Fluid Mechanics, Materials and Structures, Propulsion, and Computational Tools represent the advanced aerospace disciplines encompassing the design and construction of airframes and engines. Topics within these disciplines include fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, heat and mass transfer, computational mechanics, flight vehicle aerodynamics, solid mechanics, structural design and analysis, the study of engineering materials, structural dynamics, and propulsion and energy conversion from both fluid/thermal (gas turbines and rockets) and electrical devices.

Professional area subjects in the four areas of Estimation and Control, Computer Systems, Communications Systems, and Humans and Automation are in the broad disciplinary area of information, which plays a dominant role in modern aerospace systems. Topics within these disciplines include feedback, control, estimation, control of flight vehicles, software engineering, human systems engineering, aerospace communications and digital systems, fundamentals of robotics, the way in which humans interact with the vehicle through manual control and supervisory control of telerobotic processes (e.g., modern cockpit systems and human-centered automation), and how planning and real-time decisions are made by machines.

The capstone subjects serve to integrate the various disciplines and emphasize the CDIO context of the AeroAstro curriculum. They also satisfy the Communication Requirement as Communication-Intensive in the Major (CI-M) subjects. The vehicle and system design subjects require student teams to apply their undergraduate knowledge to the design of an aircraft or spacecraft system. One of these two subjects is required and is typically taken in the second term of the junior year or in the senior year. (The completion of at least two professional area or concentration subjects is the prerequisite for capstone subjects 16.82 and 16.83[J].) The rest of the capstone requirement is satisfied by one of four 12–18 unit subjects or subject sequences, as outlined in the Course 16 degree chart; these sequences satisfy the Institute Laboratory Requirement. In 16.821 and 16.831[J] students build and operate the vehicles or systems developed in 16.82 and 16.83[J].  In 16.405[J], students specify and design a small-scale yet complex robot capable of real-time interaction with the natural world. 

To take full advantage of the General Institute Requirements and required electives, the department recommends the following: 3.091 Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry for the chemistry requirement; the ecology option of the biology requirement; a subject in economics (e.g., 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics) as part of the HASS Requirement; and elective subjects such as 16.00 Introduction to Aerospace and Design, a mathematics subject (e.g., 18.06 Linear Algebra, 18.075 Methods for Scientists and Engineers, or 18.085 Computational Science and Engineering I), and additional professional area subjects in the departmental program. Please consult the department’s Academic Programs Office (Room 33-202) for other elective options.