Aerospace Minor At MSU
Doug Cairns
Lysle A. Wood Distinguished Professor
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Lysle Wood Professorship
(Lysle A. Wood, BSME, 1925)
• Goals of the Professorship
– Make a positive and significant impact on aerospace
technology nationally and in Montana
– Provide support for aerospace related faculty
development
– Enhance student learning opportunities for aerospace
related engineering careers
• Three year appointment, subject to renewal,
Cairns appointed 9/07
Academic and Strategic Needs for the Aerospace Minor
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MSU has traditionally been a large supplier of engineers to Boeing in Seattle and other
aerospace companies
Sponsored research from Air Force, NASA, DOE (wind turbine blades), other aerospace
Many ME Students hired by aerospace or aerospace-related companies
Students are already engaged in aerospace internships
– JPL
– NASA
– MSU SSEL
– Edwards Air Force Base
– Sandia
– etc.
Montana has reached “critical mass” in its aerospace activities
– S&K technologies
– Scientific Materials
– S2 Corporation
– Summit Design and Manufacturing in Helena
– Resodyn
– MSE in Butte
– etc.
Governor Schweitzer has stated that aerospace and related technologies will be the
leader for a higher tech Montana economy
MSU has ROTC Aerospace Studies (AFROTC); 21 students, most are engineers
Prospective students and their parents often ask “Do you have an aerospace program?”
MSU
Resodyn
MSE
CDI Aerospace
(Igor Sikorsky at the controls)
Summit Aeronautics
Group
S&K
Technologies
Regional Needs
• Closest Aerospace Engineering at University of
Washington (next closest is CU in Boulder)
• MSU has a breadth of faculty with aerospace
expertise
• Utah State University has an “Aerospace
Emphasis” in ME, similar to the BREN (BioResources ENgineering) option in CE at MSU
• University of North Dakota has a “Space
Studies” MS degree
Goals of the MSU Aerospace Minor
• Provide a framework for giving students an
introduction to aerospace (a true minor, not a
major; interdisciplinary approach engages a
breadth of students)
• Formalize and strengthen what we are already
doing, provide a basis for growth
• Use the Aerospace Minor as a recruiting tool
• Provide skills for Montana aerospace jobs
• Develop a venue for research
collaborations/internships for our students
Resources for Implementation
• No new faculty needed; many faculty in COE, Physics,
Chemistry with aerospace expertise and experience
• Aerospace Minor modeled after ECE minor for CS and
vice-versa (BS major degree with a minor included in
128 credits)
• Thermo/fluids offerings weakest; source of opportunity
for improvement
• Framework for new courses (strong “architecture” of the
Aerospace Minor to build upon)
Aerospace Minor Requirements
Summary
Table 1 Required Core Courses for the Aerospace Minor
Course Credits
Rationale
Math 171
4
Basic Differential Calculus class, necessary for
quantitative aerospace courses
Math 172
4
Basic Integral Calculus class,
necessary
for quantitative aerospace courses
Physics 220
4
Basic science central to aerospace
Physics 222
4
Basic science central to aerospace
EMEC 368
3
Basic Introduction to aerospace engineering
and science
Total Required
Course Credits 19
These courses are central to all engineering, physical sciences, and chemistry at
MSU. This core group makes the aerospace minor applicable to Mechanical
Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Civil Engineering, Chemical
Engineering, Chemistry, and Industrial Engineering. (However, it is most appropriate
for Engineering and Physics majors.)
Aerospace Minor (summary, cont.)
Table 2 Aerospace Elective Course Categories
Category
Impetus
Materials and Structures
Needed for development of
aerospace systems; structures,
hardware, sensors, system
packages, etc.
Thermo/Fluids
Needed for an understanding of
aeronautical systems,
momentum equations
relevant to propulsion
systems, environmental needs,
etc.
Focused Topics
This is a series of focused and
advanced topics applicable to
aerospace. These courses
include design, dynamics and
control, Computer Aided
Design (CAD), space
science, etc.
Students take an ADDITIONAL 9 Credits of electives in these categories (one
from each) to complete the minor; specific courses selected based on
relevance to aerospace, frequency of offering, and broad accessibility (e.g.
minimal layers of pre-requisites)
Summary of Requirements
for Aerospace Minor
• In summary, the MSU Aerospace Minor consists
of 19 required course credits plus a minimum
of 9 elective course credits as outlined above
for a total of 28 course credits. )
• Students who have less than the 19 required course credits will fill
the additional minimum 28 course credits with approved Aerospace
Minor elective course credits. Specifically, MET or CET Majors will
need two additional directed elective credits to satisfy the 28 credit
minimum.