Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences
Located in the beautiful city of Boulder, the University of Colorado's Aerospace Engineering Sciences department is home to 36 tenure track, research, and instructional faculty, over 250 graduate students and more than 400 undergraduates. Our vibrant community of engineers and scientists tackle challenges in aerospace technology and science, focusing on Astrodynamics & Satellite Navigation Systems, Vehicle Systems, Bioastronautics, Structures & Material Systems, and Remote Sensing, Earth & Space Sciences.
CU-Boulder's Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences is nationally known for teaching and research that address both challenges and opportunities facing the aerospace profession. Students work extensively on challenging, hands-on experiments in the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and design projects alongside expert faculty in the department's world-class research centers. CU aerospace alumni are working at top companies and research labs, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, The Boeing Company, and Lockheed Martin.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide quality education, including hands-on learning, and to conduct foremost research in aerospace engineering sciences. We accomplish these goals through fundamental and multidisciplinary research and by preparing aerospace engineering students to meet the needs of our 21st-century society through the conception, design, and application of aerial and spacecraft systems.
Distinguishing Characteristics of our Department
The 2010 National Research Council (NRC) Assessment of PhD programs ranks the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU-Boulder among the top four schools in the nation based on quality of program. Our Department is uniquely characterized by a blend of aeronautics, astronautics and science applications. More
In the News
Spring 2013
Assistant Professor Mahmoud Hussein wuill receive a prestigious NSF CAREER award for his proposal, "Nonlinear, Dissipative Mechanics of Phononic Materials: An Integrated Researchand Education Plan."
The AES graduate projects team, Hyperion Green Aircraft, won the "Best Paper Award" from the AIAA Design Engineering Technical Committee in January 2013. This project won the same award in 2012; its predecessor, which was on hyprid propulsion, won the award in 2011. (Advisor: J. Koster)
Fall 2012
Recent Awards - Faculty
Professor Dan Scheeres has been selected to receive the prestigious American Astronomical Society's Dirk Brouwer Award for 2012. The AAS established this award to recognize those who have made significant technical contributions to space flight mechanics and astrodynamics.
DAYSTAR Project Balloon Flight
The Diurnal Star Tracking for Balloon-borne Attitude Determination (DAYSTAR) AES capstone senior design team, under the mentorship of Prof. Scott Palo, developed a prototype daytime star tracking system capable of providing pointing knowledge to a diurnal, lighter-than-air platform. Funding for the project came from Dr. Eliot Young of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder. Please see here for more details.