Instructors:
Dr. Jacqueline Huynh, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UCI
Dr. Iryna Zenyuk, Associate Director, NFCRC (National Fuel Cell Research Center) – Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Prerequisites: Algebra II or Integrated Math II
Course Description:
The aviation industry is critical to the global economy and continues to incorporate new technologies and vehicles each year. As a growing sector, aviation faces a modern sustainability challenge, and aerospace engineers who design aircraft are responsible for both improving performance to handle increasing demand and reducing the environmental impacts associated with the industry.
In this cluster, students will be introduced to aerospace and mechanical engineering, including the engineering design process and the fundamentals of flight mechanics. Students will study the performance and emissions tradeoffs between different fuel-types for various modes of transportation, such as liquid fuels, electrification, solar energy, and fuel cells. Students will also be introduced to fabrication techniques such as computer aided drawing and 3D printing as a method to communicate their designs. Students will apply these concepts to design, build, and fly a remote-controlled aircraft for the cluster capstone project. Over the course of the cluster, students will gain perspective about the long-term environmental impacts of their designs, as well as exciting solutions that are being proposed for the future of the industry.