Opportunities for Employment and Graduate Study PDF format
There is growing feeling that graduates from traditional Masters level programs lack the practical skills to be immediately productive in the real-world environment of research, development and testing. In addition, the sophistication of experimental test and measurement techniques continues to increase rapidly. The Aerospace Engineering Department has responded to these trends with the Master of Engineering in Experimental Methods program (MEXM). The three specialty areas currently offered are Applied Automatic Control, Structural Dynamics and Aerodynamics. The MEXM programs require students to combine two of these specialty areas as part of the degree requirements. Combinations lead to emphasis in areas such as spacecraft control, noise control and robotics, flight controls, active flow control, wind tunnel testing and aircraft design and aeroelasticity.
In this program, students will gain a solid foundation in advanced topics in the areas of aerodynamics, structural mechanics and controls, coupled with hands-on experience with state-of-the-art test and measurement equipment. Graduates are well-prepared for careers in research and development, or in industry, particularly where a strong component of experimental measurement, testing and evaluation exists.
Points of Interests
On-campus experimental facilities maintained and operated by the Department include a 3' by 4' low-speed wind tunnel, two supersonic wind tunnels, a controls system laboratory including magnetic suspension projects, a smart structures and vibration laboratory, and a computational laboratory. In addition, the Department provides technical leadership to the ODU-operated Langley Full Scale Wind Tunnel. This facility is currently the largest operational low-speed wind tunnel in the United States. For their course work, students take core courses in Applied Engineering Analysis and Applied Signal Processing, then two sequences of three courses each from the three specialty areas mentioned, followed by an individual project and an elective course.
Requirements for Admission
An undergraduate degree in engineering or a related field; typically a GPA of 3.0 or above and a TOEFL score of 550 or above if the native language is not English. Applicants with lower academic credentials but some practical experience will receive favorable consideration.
The Faculty
The Department has 11 full-time faculty members including four University Eminent Scholars, as well as many visiting research faculty and post-doctoral research associates. Dr. Thomas Alberts oversees the automatic control speciality within MEXM, Dr. Jeng-Jong Ro oversees the structural dynamics area, and Dr. Colin Britcher oversees the aerodynamics area. The Department offers approximately 14 courses each semester, many of which are televised to remote sites.
The faculty is currently engaged in teaching and research in at least the following areas: high-speed flows; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); aerodynamic design optimization; unsteady flows; vortex flows; mixing and reacting flows; turbulence modeling; experimental fluid mechanics; flow stability, transition, and control; structural dynamics; finite element analysis (FEA); space structures; omputational aeroacoustics (CAA); structural acoustics and sonic fatigue; composite structures; smart structures; computational structural mechanics (CSM); controls; flight vehicle dynamics and controls; robotics; structural optimization; vibrations; magnetic suspensions; and a variety of multidisciplinary areas.
Scholarships/Assistantships
The program is ideally suited for students employed as Research Assistants at the Langley Full-Scale wind tunnel, now operated by ODU (US Citizenship is required). Numerous other possibilities exist for assistantships within on-campus laboratories or in collaborative programs with local companies.
For More Information
Contact the Department Chair, Prof. Osama Kandil (757) 683-3720, the MEXM program director, Prof. Colin Britcher (757) 683-4916, or consult the Aerospace Engineering Departments Web site at www.aero.odu.edu.