To all aerospace enthusiasts and AIAA members,
The fall semester is coming to a close and winter break is right around the corner! AIAA has recently gone through leadership elections and has a lot of exciting events in the coming months!
Firstly, leadership elections took place on November 16th where we voted in a new President, Will DeVerter; Vice President, Justin Moore; Treasurer, Ben Bates; Secretary, Jack Nolden; Outreach Coordinator, Jason Koller; and Spring Trip Coordinator, Spencer Bullen.
Looking forward, the leadership hopes to accomplish several goals for the future:
- The development of members’ fundamental knowledge and skills related to rocketry and aviation through projects, seminars, and workshops
- The promotion of online member interactions and discussions through postings and meetings in the AIAA Discord server
- A renewed focus on professional development through our LinkedIn group, resume workshops, and sharing of job postings
- The continuation of the successful and informative industry meet and greets, which informs members on potential career paths and gives them a glimpse into the professional world of engineering
- The fostering of career development through an industry mentorship program, which will be addressed more in the coming weeks
The leadership is excited to get to know everyone better and make a positive impact on the club!
Last week we were able to talk to Brewster Shaw, former NASA astronaut and UW Engineering Mechanics alumnus! We got to ask questions about his experiences on the Space Shuttle, working for NASA and other companies such as Boeing, and how he achieved his success. This gave members a chance to hear what it is like working in the aerospace industry, and hear what it was like to be part of the Space Shuttle program. For a more detailed description of the talk with Brewster Shaw, view our meeting notes.
We have some events planned for the future. On December 7th at 7:00 pm, we have a meeting with Engineering Mechanics alumni working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). At NREL engineers and scientists work to develop new renewable energy technologies. This will be a great way to explore where your degree can take you! The meeting will take place over zoom and the link to the meeting is at the end of this newsletter.
Additionally, members will be working on getting their National Association of Rocketry (NAR) certifications. AIAA will be holding seminars and informational meetings to teach the basics of model rocketry and how to get certified.
In aerospace news, SpaceX and NASA’s Crew 1 mission launched 4 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on November 15th. The astronauts were on-board the SpaceX Dragon atop of the Falcon 9 rocket. The next ISS resupply mission is slated for December 5th, where the SpaceX Cargo Dragon is delivering additional science experiments, supplies, and other equipment to those astronauts on the ISS.
Hope everyone ends the semester strong and has a relaxing winter break!
Best,
AIAA Leadership
Will DeVerter
Engineering Mechanics & Astronautics
UW-Madison AIAA President
Justin Moore
Mechanical Engineering
UW-Madison AIAA Vice President
Jack Nolden
Electrical Engineering
UW-Madison AIAA Secretary
Ben Bates
Engineering Mechanics & Astronautics; Mathematics
UW-Madison AIAA Treasurer
Jason Koller
Engineering Mechanics & Astronautics
UW-Madison AIAA Outreach Coordinator
Spencer Bullen
Engineering Mechanics & Astronautics
UW-Madison AIAA Spring Trip Coordinator
Topic: UW-Madison AIAA Meeting with NREL
Time: Dec 7, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/95514015692?pwd=TmI2ODlrTWNGalNqbkxoNkVkM2lNUT09
Meeting ID: 955 1401 5692
Passcode: 838549
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