Aerospace Engineering

OFFICE: Engineering 308
TELEPHONE: 619-594-6074
E-MAIL: ae@.sdsu.edu
WEBSITE: http://aerospace.sdsu.edu

The College of Engineering undergraduate programs in aerospace, civil, computer, construction, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

Chair: Ping Lu, Professor and Chair of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., The University of Michigan)

Undergraduate Adviser: Allen Plotkin, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Stanford University)

Graduate Admissions and Doctoral Adviser: Xiaofeng Liu, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame)

Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty:

Ahmad Bani Younes, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Texas A&M University)

Luciano Demasi, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Politecnico di Torino)

Gustaaf B. Jacobs, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., University of Illinois)

Joseph Katz, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., D.Sc., Technion University, Israel)

Balbir S. Narang, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., University of Illinois)

Allen Plotkin, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Stanford University)

Satchi Venkataraman, Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., University of Florida)

Xiaofeng Liu, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame)

Pavel P. Popov, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Cornell University)

Margherita Capriotti, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., University of California, San Diego)

Jun Chen, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Ph.D., Purdue University)

Lecturers:

Yasser Aboelkassem, Ph.D. (Statics, Dynamics, Fluid Mechanics)

Geoffrey Butler, M.S. (Flight Mechanics, Aircraft Stability and Control, and Aircraft Design)

Gary Fogel, Ph.D. (Aerospace Engineering, Evolutionary Optimization)

Mario Filho Katoaka, Ph.D. (Finite Element Analysis, Composite Structures, and Stress Analysis)

Raymond Moberly, Ph.D. (Applied Mathematics)

Daniel Nelson, B.S. (Computational Fluid Mechanics)

Steven Oberrecht, Ph.D. (Solid Mechanics, Structures, Dynamics)

Ulrich Stang, Diplom-Ingenieur (Dipl.-Ing.) - Aerospace Engineering, Universität Stuttgart, Germany (Turbomachinery)

Carl Tedesco, M.S. (Fluid Mechanics and Rocket Propulsion)

Emeritus Faculty:

John Conly, Ph.D., 1962-2003, Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Nagy Nosseir, Ph.D., 1983-2015, Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Mauro Pierucci, Ph.D., 1979-2005, Professor of Aerospace Engineering

William Shutts, Ph.D., 1958-1977, Professor of Aerospace Engineering

K.C. Wang, Ph.D., 1980-1999, Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Transfer Credit

No credit will be given for upper division engineering coursework taken at an institution having an engineering program which has not been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, unless the student successfully completes the first 12 units of engineering work attempted at this university. At that time, and upon recommendation of the department, credit will be given for the unaccredited work.

The Major

The objectives of the aerospace engineering program are to produce Bachelor of Science graduates who will:

Be successfully employed in government laboratories, industry, organizations, or small businesses and contribute to the advancement of aerospace engineering and related fields;
Continue to advance in their careers on the merits of their skills in communication and teamwork, ethical behavior, leadership abilities, and technical problem-solving;
Continue their professional development by pursuing graduate degrees or utilizing educational and career building opportunities provided through their employer or professional societies.

The aerospace industry, the second-largest industry in our country, is one of the largest employers of engineers. Opportunities for employment in entry level positions in large aircraft companies, general aviation manufacturers, or government aerospace- related laboratories are good. Graduates of the program are also qualified to continue their formal education at the graduate level or to accept entry level positions in several non-aerospace fields.

Retention Policy

The engineering program expects all majors will make reasonable academic progress toward the degree. Engineering premajors who have either (1) completed major preparatory courses, earned 60 units, but have less than a 2.7 cumulative GPA; or (2) earned 60 units but have not completed major preparatory courses and/or have less than a 2.7 cumulative GPA may be removed from the premajor and placed in undeclared.

Impacted Program

The aerospace engineering major is an impacted program. To be admitted to the aerospace engineering major, students must meet the following criteria:

Complete with a grade of C (2.0) or better: A E 200 [or M E 200 ]; CHEM 202 (or CHEM 200 ); MATH 150 , MATH 151 ; PHYS 195 , PHYS 196 . These courses cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC);
Have an overall cumulative GPA of 2.7.

To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment).

Major Academic Plans (MAPs)