The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences. In 2015, it had more than 30,000 members among aerospace professionals worldwide (a majority are American and/or live in the United States).

History

The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the

American Rocket Society The American Rocket Society (ARS) began its existence on , under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning, Nathan Schachner, and others. Pendra ...

(ARS), founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society (AIS), and the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences (IAS), founded in 1932 as the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences. Paul Johnston was the first executive director of the organization. Jim Harford took his seat after 18 months. The newly-formed structure gathered 47 technical committees and one broad technical publication, the ''AIAA Journal''. The ''AIAA Student Journal'' was also launched in 1963. The merger also led to the sale of the organizations' former headquarter buildings, and the relocation in the Sperry Rand Building. In 1967, the Technical Committee on Space and Atmospheric Science launched a study to capture the opinion of its members in California on the

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

phenomenon. In April 2017, John Langford, CEO of

Aurora Flight Sciences Aurora Flight Sciences is an American aviation and aeronautics research subsidiary of Boeing which primarily specializes in the design and construction of special-purpose Unmanned aerial vehicles. Aurora has been established for 20+ years and th ...

, was elected President of the AIAA.

Activities

Journals

As a major activity, AIAA currently publishes several technical journals. The ''

AIAA Journal The ''AIAA Journal'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published monthly by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It covers all areas of aeronautics and astronautics, particularly with respect to new theoretical and experim ...

'' is published on a monthly basis and serves as the flagship journal of the society. In January 2015 the '' Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics'' became the second AIAA journal published on a monthly basis. The other journals are published bi-monthly and have more specialized topics: * ''Journal of Air Transportation'' (Starting in 2016) * ''Journal of Aerospace Information Systems'' (formerly ''Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information, and Communication'') * ''Journal of Aircraft'' * ''Journal of Energy'' (published from 1977 to 1983) * '' Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics'' * ''Journal of Hydronautics'' (published from 1967 to 1980) * '' Journal of Propulsion and Power'' * '' Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets'' (Starting in 1964) * ''Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer'' AIAA's flagship magazine ''Aerospace America'' is distributed monthly to all members, and is published online in digital format. AIAA also produces several series of technical books ranging from education to progress in advanced research topics.

Competitions

AIAA annually holds design competitions and

Design/Build/Fly Design/Build/Fly, or DBF, is a radio-controlled aircraft competition sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Cessna Aircraft Company, and Raytheon Missile Systems. The Office of Naval Research was also a sponsor ...

competitions to provide a real-world design experience for engineering students, both undergraduate and graduate, by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytic studies.

Conferences

AIAA hosts many conferences and smaller events throughout the year. The largest of those is the AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition ("AIAA SciTech"). Others include AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition ("AIAA Aviation"), AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition ("AIAA P&E"), and AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum and Exposition ("AIAA Space").

The AIAA Foundation

AIAA currently has over 6,500 student members in 160 active student branches, including 12 foreign student branches. The student branches host annual conferences. The AIAA Foundation is devoted to the education of both practicing and future aerospace professionals. The AIAA Foundation funds numerous scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduate scholarships range from $2,000 to $2,500. Graduate scholarships are $5,000 or $10,000.

Awards and lectureships delivered

Awards

* Goddard Astronautics Award: AIAA's highest award for astronautics, endowed by Esther Kisk-Goddard in commemoration of her husband

Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully laun ...

's pioneering efforts that led to the development of the fields of astronautics. * Reed Aeronautics Award: AIAA's highest award for aeronautical science and engineering, named for Dr.

Sylvanus Albert Reed Sylvanus Albert Reed (8 April 1854 – 1 October 1935) was an American aerospace engineer who developed the modern metal aircraft propeller. Early life and career Reed Graduated from Columbia University in 1874. He worked as an engineer special ...

, pioneer of the use of metal in propeller blades. * Holt Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity: Given every four years for those who have contributed significantly to the area of

aeroelasticity Aeroelasticity is the branch of physics and engineering studying the interactions between the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces occurring while an elastic body is exposed to a fluid flow. The study of aeroelasticity may be broadly classif ...

, named after famous aeroelastician Prof.

Holt Ashley Holt Ashley (January 10, 1923May 9, 2006) was an American aeronautical engineer notable for his seminal research of aeroelasticity.MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. * Missile Systems Award: 2 categories, Technical and Management. The Technical Award is presented for a significant accomplishment in developing or using technology that is required for missile systems. The Technical and Management award are presently alternatively at the biannual Missile Sciences Conference. Thus, the awards are presented once every four years. * Wyld Propulsion Award: Presented annually to honor "outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems", named after

James Hart Wyld James Hart Wyld (September 10, 1912 – December 3, 1954) was an American engineer and rocket scientist. James Hart Wild was born on September 10, 1912 in New York City. Recognizing him as a child prodigy, his parents hired private tutors and sen ...

Lectureships

* Dryden Lectureship in Research, named for Dr. Hugh L. Dryden * Durand Lectureship, named for

William F. Durand William Frederick Durand (March 5, 1859 – August 9, 1958) was a United States naval officer and pioneer mechanical engineer. He contributed significantly to the development of aircraft propellers. He was the first civilian chair of the National ...

* von Kármán Lectureship in Astronautics, named for

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( hu, ( szőllőskislaki) Kármán Tódor ; born Tivadar Mihály Kármán; 11 May 18816 May 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronaut ...

* Wright Brothers Lectureship in Aeronautics, named for Orville and Wilbur Wright

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:American Institute Of Aeronautics And Astronautics 1963 establishments in the United States Aerospace engineering organizations American engineering organizations American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Organizations established in 1963 Professional associations based in the United States