Regional Student Conferences

Student Conferences FAQs

How does AIAA determine what Universities/groups will be hosting Student Conferences?
This is determined within each region on a yearly basis. Hosts change each year, and every region has a different way of determining who will host the following year.

Will my paper be published?
Effective February 2023, all university student (undergraduate, masters, and team) papers submitted and presented at the Regional Student Conferences (Regions I-VII) will be published with AIAA. Please review the FAQs for all questions pertaining to publishing papers for the Regional Student Conferences.

Can I present my previously published work at an AIAA Student Conference?
No. The purpose of presenting at an AIAA Student Conference is to showcase the original, unpublished work of students. Therefore, we do not permit previously published work to be presented at an AIAA Student Conference.

When do Student Conferences take place?
Student Conferences generally take place in late March/early April each year, with the exception of Region VII – International, which takes place in November each year. Precise dates are subject to change and selected at the discretion of the conference organizers.

What is the criteria for determining the acceptability of my paper to the AIAA Student Conference Program?
All abstract submission should be 1,000 words max. Final papers should be written in the AIAA Meeting Paper Format and have the following additional elements required by the Student Conference Program:

Be sure your AIAA status (student member) and student category (undergraduate or masters) are footnotes for the authors at the bottom of the first page.
11 page limit -- Single column, single spaced, 10 point font. This includes all figures, citations and text.
2 student authors and 1 faculty advisor for undergraduate / master’s papers if 1 master and 1 undergraduate must be entered into masters category.
Industry sponsors may NOT be listed as authors but may be thanked in the acknowledgement section.
PhD work may not be presented for the Student Paper Conference competition.
Make sure that you review the proofreading checklist for papers submitted to AIAA conferences. You can reduce minor errors and increase your score on grammar and style by checking this list before submitting your paper.

If you have any more questions about the rules or proceedings of the Regional Student Conference Program, please refer to the Regional Student Conference Rules .

Where do I submit my abstract/final paper?
Abstracts and papers must be submitted via aiaa-awards.org/. All abstracts/final papers are due on their due date by 2359hrs US Eastern Time. Papers in the Region VII Student Conference will be due at 2359hrs Australian Eastern Standard Time on the due date listed.

Do I need to be a student member to present at an AIAA Student Conference?
Yes, you and all members of your authorship team must be AIAA student members in order to present and have your paper accepted. Anyone who doesn’t have student membership by the time their final paper is submitted will cause the submission to be disqualified.

When do I find out if my abstract has been accepted?
Typically, you will find out within a week of abstract submissions closing.

If my abstract is rejected, will I be able to make changes and re-submit it?
Yes, you can! You will have 24 hours to re-submit your abstract.

Do I need to be registered for the conference in order to present?
Yes, all presenters need to be registered for the conference. Please find your regional conference at aiaa.org/get-involved/students-educators/student-conferences. Fees vary by conference.

Does AIAA provide travel support for attending Regional Student Conferences?
No, AIAA does not provide travel support for this program.

Are there prizes for best papers?
Yes! AIAA Student Conferences award three prizes in each category*:

1st - $500 and an invitation to the International Student Paper Conference at the SciTech Forum
2nd - $300
3rd - $250

*The above prizes are for university students.

If there is more than one author, any prize monies received will be sent to the attention of your school for disbursement.

What happens if I win 1st place in my category?
If you win first-place you will receive an invitation to present at the 2023 SciTech Forum’s International Student Paper Conference, where you will compete in your category against the finalists from the other six AIAA Member regions. Additionally, your paper will be published as part of the SciTech Forum’s proceedings.

I have a question that wasn’t answered here. Whom do I ask?
For Region II, please direct your questions to Cassy Dellinger at region2@aiaastudentconference.org . For all other regions, please direct questions to Lindsay Mitchell at studentprogram@aiaa.org .

My faculty advisor is crucial to my paper. Can he or she be listed as a co-author?
Yes, your faculty advisor can be listed as a coauthor. For Masters and Undergraduate categories, the two-author limit still applies if you decide to list your faculty advisor as an author.

Technical Presenter Resources

AIAA Student Conferences require strict adherence to AIAA technical paper formatting guidelines. Please click here to access AIAA Technical Presenter Resources, including a word template for your paper and an optional AIAA presentation template if you wish to use that for your presentation. You will also find a proofreading checklist - please carefully review the proofreading checklist before submitting your final manuscript.

2023 Student Conferences

Sponsored by

The International Student Conference is an invitation-only student conference contained within the annual AIAA SciTech Forum and Exposition. First-place winners from each of the previous year’s AIAA Regional Student Conferences are invited to present their winning papers at the International Student Conference in front of a panel of professional member judges in the undergraduate, masters, and team categories. At the conclusion of the conference, the AIAA Foundation will award three $1,000 cash prizes to each category’s first place winners. Want to get invited to SciTech? Be sure to enter your paper into your Regional Student Conference next year!

See photos from the 2020 AIAA SciTech Forum.

AIAA Would like to thank Lockheed Martin for its generous support of the International Student Conference. Hear why Lockheed Martin finds value in supporting our student members:

“Lockheed Martin is honored to partner with the AIAA Foundation to impact STEM-based students and educators starting at the K-12 levels and going thru higher education. We are especially enthusiastic about our direct engagement with student members across all seven AIAA regions, including international, and are greatly inspired by the students we meet at design competitions, student conferences, awards events and AIAA Forums. A huge salute goes to the AIAA Foundation for your work in recognizing the critical importance of supporting the next generation of “best and brightest” engineers and scientists, and thank you for bringing Lockheed Martin on your journey.”
Mary Snitch, Global S&T Organizations, Lockheed Martin

For more questions about this program, please contact us.

Agenda

All sessions hosted via Zoom.

2021 Winners

Undergraduate Category
1st place – Bréguet Range Equation in Constraint Analysis Form for Power-Rated Aircraft for Power-Rated Aircraft by Jeffrey Chen, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Master’s Category
1st place – Effects of Fountain Flow Interaction on Dual Jet Impingement at Mixed Operating Conditions by Spencer Stahl, Ohio State University

Team Category
1st place – Sharp-edge Handheld Identifier and Remover in Low-gravity Extravehicular Environments by Natasha Dada, Kalpana Ganeshan, Matthew Groll, Sophia Kolak, Swati Ravi, and Adrien Stein, Columbia University

Awards Ceremony Speaker

Stephen Frick is the ATC Deputy and Director of Hypersonics and Advanced Materials at the Lockheed Martin Space Advanced Technology Center (ATC), where he is responsible for developing future discriminating capabilities in the areas of advanced materials, advanced electronics, advanced manufacturing, and hypersonic mission development for LM Space products. Prior to his joining Lockheed Martin, Frick spent nineteen years as a NASA Astronaut, having flown two space missions on the Shuttle Atlantis, for a total of over 565 hours in space. He has held other key positions in NASA and the US government supporting human spaceflight activities over the course of his career. He also served as a US Navy Aviator, and has completed 26 combat missions and 370 carrier landings. Frick graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1986 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering, and an MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

FAQ

How does someone get invited to present at the International Student Conference?
Participants are invited to present at the International Student Conference based on their participating in one of the seven AIAA Regional Student Conferences the previous year. Only first-place winners in each category will receive an invitation.

Does AIAA pay for invited participants to travel to the SciTech Forum?
Yes! AIAA will pay for one member of your authorship team to travel to SciTech. This includes roundtrip coach airfare, a hotel room for the duration of the conference, conference registration and a Visa gift card to offset some expenses.

Will participants’ papers be published as part of the forum?
Yes. Participants’ papers will be published as part of the SciTech proceedings. Authors’ names and papers will also be listed in the forum program.

Will there be networking opportunities for me?
Yes. As part of the package, you will be provided complimentary registration. Please take full advantage of this and attend all of the networking events that you can. Additionally, you will be provided a special schedule that includes events curated for you. Please plan to attend all of those!

Will the sessions be recorded?
No, the sessions will not be recorded.

Do I need to bring a laptop?
AIAA will provide a laptop and projector in each session room. As a best practice, you should always bring your laptop with you and back up your presentation to an external device or via the cloud in case there are technical issues with the equipment. Additionally, MacBook users should bring a USB-C toHDMI Adapter.

Are there rules I have to follow for this paper competition?
Yes. You can find the rules here.

Can I expect to receive judge feedback after my presentation?
Yes. All judge feedback will be returned to you at the Student Awards Breakfast.

2023 Student Conference Winners

AIAA Announces 2023 Regional Student Conference Winners
9 May 2023

2022 Student Conferences