Nate Callender

nate.callender@mtsu.edu

Wayne Dornan

Aerospace

Discipline specific equipment

BAS/S116

N/A

N/A

The Aerospace Department seeks to provide students with hands on experiences which support the material covered in lectures. One area in particular which lends itself well to student experimentation and visualization is aerodynamics. This proposal seeks funding to update the Aerodynamics Laboratory with wind, water and digital tunnels for flow visualization and student research. Other flow and material sensors are requested. This proposal also seeks funding for a flight test simulator to further enhance our students' understanding of flight theory through in class simulated flight experiments which provide a foundation for actual flight experiments to be carried out afterwards. This simulator will also provide an opportunity for those students pursuing graduate education in Flight Test/Aerospace Engineering to better prepare themselves for graduate research and study. Computational stations including CFD, CAD and aircraft design software will also prove beneficial for these students. The courses to be directly affected by this technology are AERO 1020 (required of all Aerospace Majors), 3440, 4071, and 4440 with an enrollment of between 350 and 400 students per year. Of these students, approximately 65% are freshmen and 35% are juniors or seniors. AERO 1020, 3440, and 4440 are dual listed as EXL courses affecting 98% of the students. AERO 1020 is also offered as an honors course. In addition to the previously mentioned undergraduate courses/students which would directly benefit from the requested technology, graduate students from the Aerospace and other departments (Computer Science, Computational Science, Engineering Technology, and Physics) could also benefit.