Polar tongue of ionization stretching over northern latitudes

CU Boulder researcher earns NASA grant to study how space weather affects Earth

June 19, 2023

Yang Wang is leading a unique study harnessing satellite data to study how solar activity affects a poorly understood region of Earth’s upper atmosphere. Wang, a visiting faculty member in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and a 2021 graduate of CU Boulder’s aerospace PhD program, has earned a...

Boulder Flatirons.

Four students earn 2023 Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowships

June 12, 2023

Four Smead Aerospace PhD students have earned 2023 Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowships. The program, open to students worldwide, recognizes up to 35 women annually pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. It seeks to expand the number of women in the aerospace industry to reach gender equity. Grace...

 Visualization showing the locations of hundreds of near-Earth asteroids.

Avoiding Armageddon: Researchers narrow down list of potentially hazardous asteroids

June 2, 2023

Keep an eye on the skies. Researchers from CU Boulder and NASA have completed a census of hundreds of large asteroids orbiting near Earth—gauging which ones could come precariously close to our planet over the next thousand years. The researchers identified at least 20 asteroids that scientists may want to...

Julian Hammerl makes adjustments to a metal cube representing a derelict spacecraft inside the ECLIPS facility.

Space tractor beams may not be the stuff of sci-fi for long

June 1, 2023

On Feb. 10, 2009, disaster struck hundreds of miles above the Siberian Peninsula. That evening, a defunct Russian satellite orbiting Earth crashed into a communications satellite called Iridium 33 moving at a speed of thousands of miles per hour. Both spacecraft erupted into a rain of shrapnel, sending more than...

Department of Defense logo.

Five aerospace students earn National Defense Fellowships

May 30, 2023

Five University of Colorado Boulder aerospace PhD students have earned prestigious 2023 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships. Saikiran Chikine, Conor Rowan, Kian Shakerin, Michael Sola, and James Walker are each receiving the Department of Defense award, which provides three year fellowships to promising young scientists and engineers...

Hanspeter Schaub

Hanspeter Schaub earns CU Boulder’s highest award for teaching and research

May 26, 2023

Hanspeter Schaub has a passion for exploring the unknown—peering into uncharted areas of aerospace to push the boundaries of science and engineering. As a professor and chair of the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder, Schaub has made a career at the forefront of...

Brian Argrow with two students and a large UAV.

CU Boulder honored for drone research

May 23, 2023

The University of Colorado Boulder has been named 1st place winner in Academic Research category of the XCELLENCE Awards by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI). CU Boulder was selected from a...

Iain Boyd

Boyd discusses unexplained aerial phenomena with Popular Mechanics

May 17, 2023

Iain Boyd discusses research into unidentified aerial phenomena in a new Popular Mechanics article. Boyd is a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and director of the CU Boulder Center for National Security Initiatives. The piece focuses on renewed military efforts to study unexplained...

Tossing caps into the air.

Flickr Album: Aerospace Graduation 2023

May 15, 2023

Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences hosted a spring graduation ceremony for the Class of 2023 on May 12, 2023.

A group of honorees.

Smead Aerospace Class of 2023 Awards

May 11, 2023

Congratulations to the Smead Aerospace Class of 2023! As part of our annual graduation ceremonies, we are recognizing outstanding students and teams for special achievements. These honors were announced during a reception May 11.

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