Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations
A new Area of Concentration within the Aviation Technology Master’s Degree Program
Over the last five years, the Aviation Technology Master’s degree program has grown substantially, both
in enrollment and in terms of mature course offerings. However, as Aviation graduate student numbers
have increased, so has interest in additional courses with focus on technical and sustainability topics.
Four Aviation Technology faculty members who share common interests in these areas collaborated to
develop a four-course Area of Concentration within the existing Aviation graduate program that answers
to these challenges. Also supporting this initiative is the Air Transport Institute for Environmental
Sustainability (AirTIES), a Purdue University Research Center, which has as part of its mission the
establishment of a curriculum that will inform students on these subjects and prepare them for
positions of leadership in the Aviation and Aerospace industries.
These new courses, all of which are included for this Area of Concentration, are:
 AT 54000
Aviation and Aerospace Sustainability (Dr. Johnson)
 AT 54200
Aviation Fuels and Exhaust Emissions (Prof. Stanley / Dr. Kilaz)
 AT 54400
Aircraft Lifecycle Management Innovations (Prof. Ropp)
 AT 54600
Aviation Financial Instruments and Operations (Prof. Lopp)
The graduate studies for Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations will focus on research
outcomes relating to sustainability challenges facing the aviation and aerospace industries, specifically
including operations, new aviation fuels, exhaust emissions, maintenance and support, and finance.
Alternative aviation fuels and exhaust emissions will be an emphasis of the Area of Concentration.
Studies of current aviation fuels and alternative aviation fuels under development, including exhaust
emissions and fit-for-purpose considerations, implementation, transportation, storage, and handling
issues will be important topics for the overarching focus of sustainable aviation. Aviation finance and
advanced technical and lifecycle management studies as they relate to matters of economic
sustainability and efficient operations are centerpiece elements of this area of concentration, as well.
Program Outcomes expected for graduates upon completion of MS AAM with an Area of Concentration
in Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations are as follows. Graduates will be able to:
1. Lead sustainability projects in public and private aviation or aerospace organizations that
consider the interaction of environmental, economic, and social systems.
2. Understand how fuels, technologies, and sustainability issues relate to design, assessment,
maintenance, and operations of complex systems in aviation and aerospace.
3. Define problems and develop creative and adaptive solutions to sustainability and fuels
challenges using a systems perspective.
4. Develop and apply tools to perform needs assessment and impact statements to assess the
impact of technologies in a specific application in aviation and aerospace design, service, and
supply chains.
Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations
Participating faculty
Denver Lopp, Professor, Aviation Technology
Mary Johnson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Aviation Technology
Timothy Ropp, Associate Professor, Aviation Technology
David L. Stanley, Associate Professor, Aviation Technology
Additional Courses
The Masters of Science Aviation and Aerospace Management (MSAAM) requires a minimum of 33
semester credit hours. Students pursuing this Area of Concentration must enroll in and satisfactorily
complete the requirements of the MSAAM and the required courses for the area of concentration.
As additional, relevant courses are offered, the requirements for this Concentration should be expected
to change, with MS AAM graduate committee approval, as required. Students will develop a plan of
study with their committee chair that includes additional courses beyond those specified above, some
examples of which are given below. It should be noted that these are example courses only, and other
options for additional studies may be approved in consultation with the student’s graduate committee.
 AT 52000
Operational Assessment and Improvement
 AT 52400
Managerial Economic Decision Making
 ECET 53500
Energy Management
 CGT 51400
Product Lifecycle Management
 AGEC 52500
Environmental Policy Analysis
See example plans of study on following pages:
Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations
Example Plans of Study
Under this new Area of Concentration, the general guidelines and policies of the existing Masters of
Science in Aviation and Aerospace Management will continue to apply.
Thesis (6 credits)
This requirement consists
33 hours, including a threecredit hour research proposal
course followed by a three-credit
course during which the research
thesis is completed and the results
are formally defended.
OR
Coursework only
This requirement consists of
33 credit hours, which includes
a three-credit hour capstone
project.
Sample Thesis Plan of Study (33 credit hours)
Semester 1 (9 credit hours)
Course No. and Title
AT 55000 Systems Theory
STAT 50100 Experimental Statistics I
AT 54000 Aviation and Aerospace Sustainability
Total
Cr.
3
3
3
Semester 2 (9 credit hours)
Course No. and Title
TECH 64600 Analysis of Research in Industry And Technology
AT 54200 Aviation Fuels and Exhaust Emissions
AT 54400 Aircraft Lifecycle Management Innovations
Cr.
3
3
3
Semester 3 (9 credit hours)
Course No. and Title
CGT 51400 Product Lifecycle Management
AT 54600 Aviation Financial Instruments and Operations
AT 69800 Research MS Thesis
Cr.
3
3
3
Semester 4 (6 credit hours)
Course No. and Title
AT 52000 Operational Assessment and Improvement
AT 69800 Research MS Thesis
Total
Cr.
3
3
33
Sample Coursework-only Plan of Study (33 credit hours)
Semester 1 (9 hours)
Total
Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations
Course No. and Title
AT 550 Systems Theory
STAT 501 Experimental Statistics I
AT 540 Aviation and Aerospace Sustainability
Cr.
3
3
3
Semester 2 (9 hours)
Course No. and Title
AT 52000 Operational Assessment and Improvement
AT 54200 Aviation Fuels and Exhaust Emissions
AT 54400 Aircraft Lifecycle Management Innovations
Cr.
3
3
3
Semester 3 (9 credit hours)
Course No. and Title
AT 50500 Research Methods in Aviation
CGT 51400 Product Lifecycle Management
AT 54600 Aviation Financial Instruments and Operations
Cr.
3
3
3
Semester 4 (6 credit hours)
Course No. and Title
ECET 53500 Energy Management
AT 59000 Capstone Research Project
Total
Cr.
3
3
33
Sustainable Aviation and Transportation Operations