Aerospace R&D has been a driving force for innovation pushing major technological advancements that have redefined transportation, led to incredible discoveries, and sheparded in a fourth industrial revolution—digital transformation—which will create exciting opportunities for revolutionary transitions. AIAA can provide thought leadership and be a trusted voice, guiding the larger community through this shift. Interdisciplinary work fostered by advanced collaboration promises to yield breakthroughs in aeronautics and aerospace systems. Digital transformation is driving model-based technological advances such as digital engineering, digital twin, and digital thread, which are expected to accelerate the pace of R&D to deployment of advanced systems significantly. Such innovation can lower overall total lifecycle cost and ultimately improve customer experiences.
Across aeronautics and aerospace, we are information rich, but knowledge poor. We need smarter collaboration between people and their machines and tools to harvest the data. Digital transformation will allow us to capture knowledge, use it in models, and then apply it to new materials. Rapid prototyping and integration will accelerate first-design feasibility. We also need to enable artificial intelligence and machine learning to make our machines smarter. Shifting routine tasks to machines will allow our workforce to focus on tackling the next generation of technology challenges.
Within the Aerospace R&D Domain, we must address significant issues including potential cyberattacks on aerospace systems and building autonomous systems from a moral, ethical, and legal perspective. We also must find ways to accelerate the deployment of technology, with appropriate testing to help ensure success.
Key Topics
Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Materials
How do we incorporate multifunctional materials, create lighter systems through the application of new materials and new manufacturing techniques, and accelerate the certification of new materials and new manufacturing processes?
Autonomy
We must safely insert advanced information technologies into aerospace systems and provide smart contingency management capabilities across all aerospace plattorms. How can we leverage lessons from the automotive industry to help us address emerging issues, such as increasing congestion in both air and space traffic? We should consider how we adopt a human-centered autonomy approach.
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
Recent developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning are making headlines, and are already having a strong impact on how aerospace professionals work. How will Al and ML impact aerospace science and engineering practices? How can Al and ML applications provide new pathways for safer, faster, and more cost-effective aerospace system development?
Resilient and Assured Systems
With increasing levels of autonomous control, how do we ensure that the resulting behaviors satisfy legal, moral, and ethical perspectives? As we create increasingly more complex and adaptive systems, how do we ensure that these systems are as safe, or safer, than previous generations? How do we accelerate lessons learned and incorporate into already deployed systems? As systems become more self-aware, can they adapt their control systems to reflect sensor or mechanical disruptions?
Transformative Systems Engineering
How do we embrace digital twin concepts being inspired by engineered resilient systems and accelerate adoption of model-based systems engineering (MBSE)? How do we create frameworks to incorporate new technologies into system engineering methodologies, such as human-AI teaming and advanced materials more effectively? And we must leverage new digital techniques to reverse the trend of increasing timelines from first flight to initial operational capability.
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AIAA Related Content
EVENTS
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43rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC)
29 September - 3 October 2024
San Diego, California, USA
Join us in San Diego, California, USA for the 43rd AIAA DATC/IEEE Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), the preeminent Research and Development conference in the field of digital avionics. -
2024 Yvonne C. Brill Lecture & Reception
1 October 2024 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)
Washington, DC, USA
This talk will explore what we can learn from the remarkable evolution of a military navigation system into a global utility, and consider where today’s new advances in utilization of signals-of-opportunity, optical communications, atomic clocks, and quantum sensing might lead. -
16th Overset Grid Symposium
7 October - 10 October 2024
Dayton, Ohio, USA
This international symposium provides an open forum for communication among mathematicians, scientists, and engineers from academia, industry, and government. The technical organization is informal, and only oral presentations are required. -
HyTASP Webinar Series: Detonation-Based Combustion for High-Speed Propulsion Systems (AIAA Member Exclusive)
18 October 2024 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)
Online
Detonation-based engines have recently gained substantial interest as an alternative to traditional deflagration-based propulsion systems, with the theoretical potential to achieve overall engine performance gains... -
Regional Student Conferences Webinar: An Overview (AIAA Member Exclusive)
24 October 2024 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)
Online
Allison Tsay, Associate RF Engineer at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, discusses career pathways to becoming a professional engineer. -
2024 SmallSat Education Conference
26 October - 27 October 2024
Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center, Florida, USA
Join us 26–27 October for the 2024 SmallSat Education Conference, an important East Coast gathering where educators, administrators, and students will learn about CubeSats, ThinSats, and High Altitude Balloon programs. -
AIAA Young Professionals, Students, and Educators (YPSE) Conference
22 November 2024
Laurel, Maryland, USA
The AIAA Mid-Atlantic Section is organizing the AIAA Young Professionals, Students, and Educators (YPSE) Conference, to be held 22 November The conference will be held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Kossiakoff Center. -
2024 Region VII Student Conference
25 November - 26 November 2024
Melbourne, Australia & Online
AIAA is pleased to announce that the Region VII Student Conference will be held from 25–26 November 2024 at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia & Online.
COURSES
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Composite Structures: Process Analysis, Progressive Damage, Failure Analysis, and Advanced Software
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The Anatomy of Autonomy
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Financial and Business Acumen for Navigating the Aerospace Industry
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Wind Tunnel Testing for Aircraft Development – Online Short Course (Starts 4 March 2025)
4 March - 20 March 2025
This course is a primer on wind tunnels and wind tunnel testing, primarily for aviation applications. The course considers these aspects from both the client side and the facility side, underpinned by a focus on cost and data quality.
Open for registration. Register Now
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Essential Model-Based Systems Engineering
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Complex Systems Competency
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AI for Air Traffic Safety Enhancement
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Business Development for Aerospace Professionals – Online Short Course (Starts 11 February 2025)
11 February - 20 February 2025
This course is ideal for aerospace technical and scientific people transitioning to new business roles with responsibility for generating and growing sales.
Open for registration. Register Now
NEWS
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AIAA and HYSKY Society Announce New Advanced Hydrogen Aviation Short Course
19 September 2024
AIAA is pleased to announce a new continuing education course on hydrogen aviation developed in collaboration with HYSKY Society, an association committed to decarbonizing aviation with hydrogen. -
AIAA Statement on SpaceX Polaris Dawn Mission
13 September 2024
AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate the SpaceX team and the Polaris Dawn crew on their accomplishments. -
AIAA Announces 2024 Undergraduate Scholarship and Graduate Award Winners
5 September 2024
The AIAA Foundation has announced the 26 winners of its 2024 undergraduate scholarships and graduate awards. -
AIAA Names Clay Mowry as Chief Executive Officer
3 September 2024
AIAA announced today that its Board of Trustees has selected Clay Mowry as the Institute’s new chief executive officer (CEO). Mowry is a globally recognized space industry executive with experience across the international aerospace community. He will join the Institute effective 1 October 2024. -
AIAA Statement on Blue Origin’s Successful NS-26 Mission
29 August 2024
AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement: “On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate Blue Origin on its successful NS-26 mission. -
Dan Dumbacher Recognized with Allyship Award
21 August 2024
AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher is being recognized by Women in Aerospace with their 2024 Allyship Award. This honor is presented to an individual ‘who actively promotes and aspires to advance a culture... -
AIAA Accelerates the Future of Aviation and Space at 2024 AIAA AVIATION Forum and 2024 ASCEND
21 August 2024
The latest aircraft, spacecraft, technologies, and missions were on display in Las Vegas, Nevada, from July 28 until August 2 by AIAA. AIAA co-located two of its signature events – 2024 AIAA AVIATION Forum and 2024 ASCEND – in one venue, Caesars Forum, for the week. -
AIAA and Tripadvisor Launch “Destination: Space” to Open Up Space Tourism to New Audiences
30 July 2024
AIAA and Tripadvisor have launched “Destination: Space,” a new content platform dedicated to space tourism, exploration, and education. “Destination: Space” aims to demystify space...