Since it was reactivated in 2011, the UC Davis chapter has hosted numerous events to inform students about Aerospace and prepare them for graduate school and industry. These include Distinguished Lectures from experts in academia and industry, resume and internship workshops, museum tours, and industry visits. Underlined event titles indicate media is available for that event.
2018-2019
Night with Industry: Moog, Revolutionizing the Way to Space — February 19, 2019
AIAA hosted Moog space industry information session with Dr. Joe Maly, who currently leads the development of passive damping and isolation systems, specializing in visco-elastic materials and applications of finite element analysis. Student attendees also got to interact with Moog prototypes and a chance to submit their resumes to Dr. Maly for full-time and internship opportunities.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Internship Panel — January 31, 2019
Applying for internships can be tricky. This was great opportunity for students to get their questions answered by peers who have gone through the process. Our panelists included both graduate and undergraduate interns from NASA (multiple locations), Lockheed Martin, and Tesla.
Joint Engineering Club Social – Karaoke Night with BME Society — November 8, 2018
Joint engineering club karaoke social with Biomedical Engineering Society. This was a great way for lower and upper classmen of various engineering disciplines to socialize and network with each other. This also provided a great place to learn more about the many engineering discipline for those considering switching their field.
AIAA Distinguished Lecture, Robotic Planetary Exploration Lecture — October 12, 2018
AIAA was proud to have Randii Wessen, a JPL system engineer to lecture us on the future of planetary robotic exploration US. Dr. Wessen has been a NASA JPL engineer since March 1984. He’s worked on several programs and missions and he has won many prestigious awards.
2017-2018
University Fly-In & Airport Day — May 5, 2018
AIAA and Aviation Club at UC Davis hosted a fly-in open house and potluck. There were fly-ins from pilots at UC Davis and ICON aircraft, showcasing hobby aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and the Icon A5. It was great to see these aircraft up close and consider aviation as a hobby or career! There was also chances to get a tour of campus aboard the Cessna 172!
Fun AIAA Photoshoot at Picnic Day — April 21, 2018
AIAA hosted a fun photoshoot with aerospace themed props, including a rocket cutout!
AIAA Paper Airplane Contest — March 7, 2018
7th annual AIAA Paper Airplane Contest at Kemper Lobby. Free donuts for the early risers and gift card prizes for the winners.
AIAA Winter General Meeting & Trivia Night — January 29, 2018
The UC Davis American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) held our winter general meeting as well as a TRIVIA NIGHT with prizes.
Icon Aircraft headquarter tour — November 17, 2017
AIAA hosted Icon Aircraft headquarter tour at Vacaville. Icon Aircraft is a privately held American general light sport aircraft design and production company. Bret Davenport, a test pilot engineer has kindly agreed to gave us a tour of their facility.
AIAA Distinguished Lecture — November 7, 2017
Lt. Col Tucker Hamilton is an Experimental Fighter Test Pilot for the US Air Force. He supported various Red Flag Exercises and Operation Noble Eagle missions where he protected the President of United States. He is the Developmental Test and Evaluation Leader for the Joint Strike Fighter, F-35. AIAA was honored to have him guest lecture about his career journey and his industry.
2016-2017
Paper Airplane Contest — April 26, 2017
As part of a yearly tradition, UC Davis AIAA hosted a contest to challenge students in the design of the most creative and effective paper airplanes in a number of select categories.
Resume Night with Aerojet Rocketdyne — January 19, 2017
UC Davis AIAA, along with the Sacramento AIAA, hosted a resume review night to help students prepare for the upcoming career fair. Aerojet Rocketdyne employees spoke to students about industry hiring practices and offered resume advice for students.
Icon Aircraft Tour — November 18, 2016
UC Davis students toured the Icon Aircraft facility in Vacaville and got to see the sleeker, more adventurous side of aviation.
2014-2015
Glider Launcher Competition — March 30, 2015
The UC Davis AIAA branch hosted a glider launcher competition which allowed UC Davis engineering students to submit various designs for a glider launching mechanism while adhering to a number of set requirements.
Distinguished Lecture by Kenneth J. Szalai — February 26, 2015
Kenneth J. Szalai discussed high-risk experimental flight research programs and how they pushed the boundaries of aircraft capabilities while laying the groundwork for more advanced aircraft.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Tour — February 6, 2015
UC Davis students toured the Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in Sacramento and learned about current aerospace engineering practices.
Airship to Orbit with Sacramento AIAA — January 20, 2015
Floating to space? Crazy or possible? John Powell, President of JP Aerospace gave a presentation on his Airship to Orbit (ATO) program.
Resume Night with Aerojet Rocketdyne — January 8, 2015
UC Davis AIAA, along with the Sacramento AIAA, hosted a resume review night to help students prepare for the upcoming career fair. Aerojet Rocketdyne employees spoke to students about industry hiring practices and offered resume advice for students.
UC Davis Graduate Student Lecture — December 4, 2014
Four graduate students pursuing Masters to PhDs gave short talks about their research. Richard Joyce spoke about the Rapidly Reconfigurable Research Cockpit, Parsa Taheri’s presentation covered Micro Electronic Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Gyroscopes, Todd Beeby discussed Infrared Thermography in the UC Davis Aeronautical Wind Tunnel, and Ilya Anishchenko covered his work on Agricultural UAV Design.
2013-2014
3rd Annual Paper Airplane Contest — May 29, 2014
Donuts, coffee, some on-the-fly aerospace engineering, plus a dog to pet! The 2014 paper airplane was a blast with students from several departments participating. Their were many unique designs and only a few got stuck in the Kemper Hall lighting this year.
Distinguished Lecture by Professor Ronald Hess — May 15, 2014
Chapter Adviser and senior professor in the UC Davis MAE department, Dr. Ronald Hess, gave a lecture on his decades of research into Pilot/Vehicle Analysis in Aircraft Loss-of-Control Research.
Movie Night at the Hangar: BBC Space Race — April 5, 2014
Picnic Day Helicopter Obstacle Course — April 12, 2014
The chapter setup an obstacle course outside the EFL during the campus wide centennial Picnic Day celebration. Campus visitors were challenged to fly an R/C helicopter though the obstacle course while learning about helicopter stability and control.
Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Sorgenfrei of NASA Ames — January 23, 2014
Dr. Matt Sorgenfrei graduated from UC Davis with his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2012 and now works at NASA Ames. He came up to campus to give a lecture on his work designing CubeSats to operate in a coordinated swarm.
Information and Resume Night with Aerojet Rocketdyne — January 8, 2014
In partnership with the Sacramento AIAA, the UC Davis AIAA hosted an information and resume night about personel from Aerojet Rocketdyne. It included a presentation from Aerojet Rocketdyne employees on the company and hiring practices as well as the opportunity for students to get advice on their resumes prior to the Engineering Internship and Career Fair.
2012-2013
Joint Event and Distinguished Lecture by Professor Robinson — May 28, 2013
The UC Davis department invited members from San Francisco, Berkeley, and Sacramento to join us for a lecture by former astronaut and UC Davis MAE professor Dr. Stephen Robinson on the past, present, and future challenges of human spaceflight.
2nd Annual Paper Airplane Contest — May 16, 2013
The popular AIAA Paper Airplane Contest returned to Kemper Lobby to brighten up Spring term.
Results
- Distance: 1. Logan Halstrom 2.Alex Lu 3. John Flynn
- Precision: 1. Hao To 2. Holger Teichgraeber 3. John Flynn
- Creativity: Bobby Olsen
- Structure and Engineering: Logan Halstrom and Chris Lorenzen
Sacramento Section: Lecture by Dr. Paul Bevilaqua — April 3, 2013
The Sacramento Section of the AIAA and CSU Sacramento student chapter hosted Chief Engineer of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works for a dinner and guest lecture at the Aerospace Museum of California.
Moller International Industry Tour — February 22, 2013
Moller International, our local flying car company, generously opened its doors to AIAA members for a tour of their facilities and technologies. We would like to extend our thanks to Bruce Calkins for showing us around and answering all of our questions.
MAE Hangar Cleanup Days with Professor Robinson — Fall 2012 and Winter 2013
Students from the MAE department assisted new faculty member Professor Stephen Robinson with cleaning and preparing a hangar at the University Airport for use as an educational space by his lab and the department.
Resume and Interview Workshop — November 20, 2012
The AIAA Officers with the assistance of Professor Stephen Robinson reviewed student resumes and performed mock interviews to help MAE students prepare for the Fall Internship and Career Fair.
2011-2012
1st Annual Paper Airplane Contest — May 24, 2012
AIAA hosted a paper airplane contest and social event for members or the UC Davis College of Engineering community in the Kemper Hall Lobby.
Results:
- Distance: 1. Jq Liu 2. Logan Halstrom 3. Scott Kelly
- Most creative: Jordan Lay
October Sky Movie Night — May 10, 2012
Stanford Astronaut Talk — April 18, 2012
Stanford’s AIAA chapter brought together the UCB, SJSU, and the UCD chapters and welcomed NASA Astronaut Dan Bursch, who gave an insight about his experience on Expedition-Four to the International Space Station.