University of Michigan Aerospace Engineering

At this week’s AIAA AVIATION Forum in San Diego, California, researchers from the U-M Department of Aerospace Engineering, in collaboration with hybrid-electric aviation leader Electra, are helping unveil a new conceptual aircraft design for next-generation commercial airliners.

Developed under NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 program, the design features a turbo-electric airliner concept, combining a double-bubble lifting fuselage with targeted electrification and electric tail fans to improve efficiency while remaining compatible with airline and airport operations.

NASA’s AACES program sought to bring together industry and academic partners to explore transformative aircraft concepts, propulsion technologies, and sustainable solutions for commercial aviation by 2050. As a major university partner on the Electra-led AACES project, the University of Michigan team contributed expertise in aircraft design optimization, Aviary/OpenMDAO-based capability development, electrified propulsion, battery modeling, and fleet-planning analysis. Professor Gökçin Çınar and the IDEAS Lab at the University of Michigan led the U-M effort, with co-principal investigators Max Li, Joaquim R. R. A. Martins, and Venkat Viswanathan.

The collaboration also included partners from across academia and industry, including American Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Hinetics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the University of California, Irvine’s Aircraft Systems Laboratory.

The team’s findings are being presented this week at the AIAA AVIATION Forum, the premier aerospace research and technology conference. In total, the Electra-led AACES project is featured in eight technical presentations and two technical panels at AVIATION Forum 2026, underscoring the breadth of the team’s technical contributions. Five of the presentations are co-authored by members of the U-M Aerospace Engineering team, reflecting the department’s central role in advancing the modeling, optimization, and analysis behind the project.

Learn more: https://aero.engin.umich.edu/2026/06/10/michigan-aerospace-team-helps-shape-nasa-backed-vision-for-efficient-airliners-of-2050/

Michigan Aerospace team helps shape NASA-backed vision for efficient airliners of 2050 - Michigan Aerospace Engineering University of Michigan researchers contributed aircraft design and optimization, trade-space exploration, battery modeling, thermal management, and fleet-planning expertise to Electra’s NASA AACES 2050 project

At this year's AI in Research Symposium, Aerospace Engineering Professor Ricardo Vinuesa and students within the Vinuesa Lab were awarded the Empowering Research with AI Award! The lab's awarded work focuses on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and high-fidelity turbulence simulation, sitting at the boundary of generative AI and physical understanding of turbulence.

Hosted by the Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society (MIDAS), the symposium’s award ceremony recognized teams and individuals whose innovative and rigorous use and assessment of artificial intelligence (AI) seek to advance knowledge or practice in their discipline.

With over 180 team submissions and more than 80 awards presented, members of the Vinuesa Lab showcased the work they did in deep reinforcement learning for flow control and the explainable AI they used to better understand how turbulence works.

Congratulations to the authors on this awarded work, including Professor Ricardo Vinuesa, Francisco Alcantara-Avila, Federica Tonti, Abhijeet Vishwasrao, Yuning Wang, Atharva Mahajan, Pol Suarez, Marcial Sanchis-Agudo, and Filip Johnson.

Learn more here: https://aero.engin.umich.edu/2026/06/05/empowering-research-with-ai-award/

Empowering Research with AI Award - Michigan Aerospace Engineering Vinuesa Lab recognized at the 2026 AI in Research Symposium

New Space Power and Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness and Resilience (SPAR) Institute YouTube video!

Over the next several weeks, we will release new videos, in partnership with SPAR, highlighting aspects of the effort from key members of the institute.

This week, Brett Leitherer, Research and Development Engineer at Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc., describes technologies such as heat pipes and radiators that help remove waste heat from high-power space systems.

Watch the eighth video in the series and catch up on any SPAR-related content on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihnHnoPEhqc&list=PLBuxeg_ckmXzc9QjEZESO1gPSgDgdDFOJ&index=1

Stay tuned for next week, when we dive further into SPAR's efforts!

Brett Leitherer on Thermal Management for Space Power Systems | SPAR Institute Brett Leitherer describes technologies such as heat pipes and radia...

This year's Aerospace Day, hosted by the University of Michigan AIAA Student Branch welcomed 220 K-12 students, parents and volunteers! This event continued to be the department's largest outreach effort and a favorite among the community.

We would like to give a special thank you to all of the volunteers who helped throughout the day, as well as the U-M AIAA students who ensure this annual event continues to inspire and encourage the next generation of STEM leaders.

Read more: https://aero.engin.umich.edu/2026/06/02/2026-aerospace-day-welcomes-over-220-students-parents-and-volunteers/

2026 Aerospace Day Welcomes Over 220 Students, Parents and Volunteers - Michigan Aerospace Engineering U-M Chapter of AIAA organizes the department’s biggest annual outreach event

New Space Power and Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness and Resilience (SPAR) Institute YouTube video!

This week, Sadaf Sobhani, an assistant professor at Cornell University, explains how ceramic heat pipes and advanced radiator materials help spacecraft manage the heat produced by high-power propulsion and energy systems.

Over the next several weeks, we will release new videos, in partnership with SPAR, highlighting aspects of the effort from key members of the institute.

Watch the eighth video in the series and catch up on any SPAR-related content on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnp-ueaxIMA&list=PLBuxeg_ckmXzc9QjEZESO1gPSgDgdDFOJ&index=1

Stay tuned for next week, when we dive further into SPAR's efforts!

Sadaf Sobhani on Ceramic Heat Pipes for Space Radiators | SPAR Institute Sadaf Sobhani explains how ceramic heat pipes and advanced radiator materials help spacecraft manage the heat produced by high-power propulsion and energy sy...

Starting next week, the University of Michigan LASSO student project team will present their finalized work for the 2026 NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition. As finalists, the team will present their project on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 8:50 - 9:35 a.m. Eastern.

All presentations can be watched live on Vimeo Livestream beginning Tuesday, June 2nd at 8:40 a.m. ET, and archived versions will also be available after the event. Watch live here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/rascal-forum

Please join us in wishing Tao Sevigny, Saima Jamal, Sean McClary, Yuvraaj Pasumarthy, and Ted Saenger good luck on their final presentations! Read more about the team's project and the competition below.

New Space Power and Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness and Resilience (SPAR) Institute YouTube video!

Over the next several weeks, we will release new videos, in partnership with SPAR, highlighting aspects of the effort from key members of the institute.

This week, Azer Yalin, Mechanical Engineering Professor from Colorado State University, explains how advanced optical diagnostics help researchers understand how new plasma thrusters operate and how emerging propellants affect performance.

Watch the seventh video in the series and catch up on any SPAR-related content on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mor6zyc9lA

Stay tuned for next week, when we dive further into SPAR's efforts!

Azer Yalin on Diagnosing Advanced Plasma Thrusters | SPAR Institute Azer Yalin explains how advanced optical diagnostics help researche...

Last month, the University of Michigan AIAA student branch welcomed over 150 attendees to North Campus for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA) Region III Student Conference.

During the event, students welcomed retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and U-M Center for Entrepreneurship Lecturer David Brewer as the event’s keynote speaker. Beyond Professor Brewer’s involvement, there were also 43 student paper presentations, representing students from 13 colleges and three high schools. This year’s conference was notably the first to feature high school presentations, during which students were awarded cash prizes for their work.

Of the 43 paper presentations, two U-M student teams received awards in two different categories. This included:

- The “Examination of the Viability of Reclaimed Gas Electric Propulsion for Orbit Maintenance of Human Space Stations” student team, which received first place in the team paper presentation category

- The “Hybrid Actuator Control Allocation: A Hardware Comparison of QP and PI Allocators on an Air Spindle Testbed” team, which placed second in the Graduate category

Please join us in congratulating the U-M AIAA students on a successful event, as well as all of the paper presentation award recipients! Read more about the event here: https://aero.engin.umich.edu/2026/05/15/aiaa-region-iii-student-conference-hosted-by-the-university-of-michigan-student-branch/

AIAA Region III Student Conference Hosted by the University of Michigan Student Branch - Michigan Aerospace Engineering U-M AIAA student branch proudly hosts student conference, multiple students receive paper presentation awards

To establish a legacy of support, encouragement and community, the Dontchev family, led by mother Dora, and her children, Kiko and Mira, have established the Asen Dontchev Family Engineering Student Award. The award stands in honor of their late husband, father and University of Michigan mentor Asen Dontchev and his impact on students and the U-M community.

By establishing this fund, they hope to “pay it forward,” ensuring that today’s students have access to the same kinds of opportunities that made a lasting impact on them. Find out more here: https://aero.engin.umich.edu/2026/04/30/asen-dontchev-family-engineering-student-award/

Asen Dontchev Family Engineering Student Award - Michigan Aerospace Engineering The Dontchev family establishes new student award fund in honor of an outstanding legacy