For the shortest month of the year, February has been a busy time for AIAA! We kicked off the month with a webinar on sustainability in aviation, discussing how we as an industry are working toward decarbonization. We saw considerable interest in this important topic, so we’re planning a follow-up session later this spring.
We also celebrated the multiple arrivals at Mars. Congratulations to the UAE Space Agency and our corporate partner, the National Space Science and Technology Center, on their Hope Mars Mission reaching Mars orbit! And congratulations to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on its Tianwen-1 mission, the second mission to arrive at the red planet, reaching Mars orbit just days later.
Congratulations also to our corporate partner, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the whole Perseverance team for landing in Jezero Crater, as planned. Thank you for previewing the entry, descent, and landing with many AIAA members and others during our webinar the week prior.
The AIAA staff was cheering together as we watched those incredible moments and the first images come in from Perseverance. We also realized that Perseverance was on the ground for four minutes before we knew it on Earth. I think we’re all living on Mars Time now!
Recognizing Diversity During Heritage Months
Our Diversity Working Group continues to help ensure that we encourage participation and collaboration across all genders, ethnicities, and races, and to enhance our representation of the entire industry.
We are grateful for their guidance and how they encourage a healthy dialogue. We recognized Black History Month in February on our social media channels, honoring the history and achievements of Black Americans in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. We look forward to recognizing Women’s History Month in March. You are invited to join the Diversity Working Group’s ongoing conversation on Engage.
Student Conferences Offer Idea Exchanges, Lifetime Connections
In March, our Regional Student Conferences get started. These virtual events provide our student members with a platform to share their work. Professional members can register for any region’s conference. We encourage you to consider attending one this spring to show your support for the next generation coming up in the aerospace community.
Region I, 9–10 April (Hosted by Rutgers University)
Region II, 5–9 April (Hosted by the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)
Region III, 26–27 March (Hosted by the University of Michigan)
Region IV, 26–27 March (Hosted by Oklahoma State University)
Region V, 2–3 April (Hosted by the University of Iowa)
Region VI, 3–4 April (Hosted by California State University, Long Beach)
If you miss the conferences this spring, you can meet the first-place regional winners at the 2022 International Student Conference held at 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum, 3–7 January 2022. We also want to congratulate the 2021 International Student Conference winners.
These universities join more than 240 AIAA student branches, including 40+ international student branches, with a total active membership of over 7,500 students worldwide.
It’s very exciting to see AIAA student branches expanding. Membership in an AIAA student branch is a valuable foundation for a budding engineer’s journey from the classroom to a career. Student branch membership is an important part of how AIAA supports young people today who will shape the future of aerospace tomorrow.
Congratulations to the New AIAA Honorary Fellows and AIAA Fellows!
AIAA just announced our elected Class of 2021 Honorary Fellows and Fellows.
We take great pride in honoring professionals with the distinction of Honorary Fellow and Fellow. These individuals have distinguished themselves by their significant and lasting contributions to the aerospace community. I continue to be impressed by this class’ passion, accomplishments, and dedication to the industry. They are certainly worthy of this recognition as they inspire all of us to aspire to even greater heights for the generations that follow. Find the list, here, and join me in congratulating each of these incredible professionals.
Expand Your Library with the AIAA Book of the Month
Take advantage of AIAA’s Aerospace Resource Central Book of the Month feature, offering an insightful text with a valuable discount. You can still buy this month’s Book of the Month until 28 February. Orbital Mechanics, Third Edition, edited by Vladimir A. Chobotov, is a graduate-level textbook and a ready reference for the professional. This classic text covers every aspect of orbital mechanics, from celestial relationships to the problems of space debris.
What’s Next?
Stay involved with AIAA with these options:
Get Smart. Find success with AIAA online courses this spring. Three online courses start in March. Register today.
The Space Economy is Booming. Let’s Get to Work! Attend the free ASCENDxSummit: Accelerating the Next-Generation Workforce, 16 March, 1000–1400 hrs ET USA. This three-session event will bring together futurists, educators, and motivators from classrooms through careers to address current needs and future opportunities for EVERYONE to succeed in space. Register today.
The 2021 ASCEND Call for Content is your chance to share your vision for humanity’s off-world future with ASCEND’s growing community during our second annual apex event, 15–17 November.
Submit proposals for technical papers or collaborative sessions that will fire up imaginations, bring new insights to confronting unique challenges, and produce outcomes that move us all further and faster together.
Finally, I want to share with you how resilient the AIAA staff is, along with the generous member volunteers across the Institute, who together keep our efforts moving forward. We will continue to harness the best aspects of remote work and virtual programming, combined with the team’s creativity, to deliver quality programs and other offerings moving into the spring.
Sincerely,
Dan Dumbacher Executive Director, AIAA
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
12700 Sunrise Valley Drive • Reston, VA 20191-5807 • 1.800.639.AIAA (2422)
