UMD Aerospace Engineering Newsletter Spring 2021

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News from the University of Maryland's Department of Aerospace Engineering | May 2021

May 2021

Digging into Competition
UMD team among “Digging Dozen” finalists
for Not-a-Boring Competition

An interdisciplinary team of University of Maryland (UMD) students has landed a hard-earned spot as one of the “Digging Dozen” finalists in the first-ever Not-a-Boring Competition, hosted by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company.

The team, UMD Loop, originally created in 2015 to compete in Musk’s SpaceX Hyperloop competitions, is switching gears to tackle a whole new challenge: building UMD’s first ever tunnel-boring machine (TBM), which will be capable of quickly boring a thirty-meter hole underground.

UMD Researchers to Design Greener Aircraft Engine

With funding from ARPA-E and support from Raytheon and other industry partners, a team led by professors Christopher Cadou (AE) and Eric Wachsman (MSE) is developing a hybrid gas turbine/fuel cell system that can be used to power the large aircraft (like the Boeing 737) that are responsible for more than 85% of aviation emissions globally.

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Dr. Norman Wereley Steps Down as Chair

Minta Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering Norman M. Wereley has announced his decision to step down the post he has held since 2012. He will continue his role as an endowed professor and as director of the Composites Research Laboratory (CORE).

RESEARCH & FACULTY NEWS

Flying a helicopter on Mars: NASA’s Ingenuity
Associate Professor Anubhav Datta discusses Mars Helicopter with Nature

STUDENT NEWS

Winning Team Soars With Drones at 2021 Pitch Dingman Competition

Aerospace Engineering student Camilo Melnyk '21 was part of the winning team of this year’s UMD Pitch Dingman Competition. The team won $30,000 for their startup, Blimp Logistics, which aims to develop a drone delivery system to alleviate issues of last-mile delivery services in suburban and rural areas for businesses shipping packages under 30 pounds anywhere in the country.

Completing a Doctorate—Aboard an Aircraft Carrier

Commander Donald “Bucket” Costello does not recommend working on an engineering doctorate via night school while on active duty, but h research could aid the drone certification process.

UMD Takes Second in VFS Design-Build-Vertical-Flight Competition

A team of UMD students took second place in the Vertical Flight Society’s inaugural Design-Build-Vertical Flight (DBVF) Student Competition. UMD was one of eight teams selected to compete after the Preliminary Design Report earlier this spring.

Six UMD Students Win VFS Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarships

Brandyn Phillips Wins 2020/2021 Aerospace Corporation Fellowship

ALUMNI NOTES

Michael Kaczmarek (B.S. '92)
Recently Named a Ponemon Fellow

Kaczmarek is vice president of product management for Neustar’s Security Solutions business.

Natalie Tham (B.S. '16) Appointed to the U.S. Department of Energy

Her role is Special Assistant, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

Do you have alumni news to share? Share it at go.umd.edu/AE-alumni-news.

PHILANTHROPY

Contributions to the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Maryland help create more educational and research opportunities for our students, faculty, and department. Your contribution, no matter how large or small, can have an impact on a student today, and create far reaching impacts for tomorrow.

The Aerospace Engineering Chair's Undergraduate Education Fund supports the educational and research needs of undergraduate students. As students constantly pursue new ideas and innovations, this fund helps to seed projects, present awards, host inspiring industry speakers, send students to conferences, and other opportunities as they arise.

The Department of Aerospace Engineering welcomes gifts to this or any scholarship fund.

Or, are you looking to honor a faculty member who made an impact on a student, past or present?

Learn more by contacting Almarie Wood at aiwood@umd.edu or 301-405-9836, or visit https://aero.umd.edu/give.

Copyright © 2021 University of Maryland Department of Aerospace Engineering, All rights reserved.

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