During October I have found myself on the road seeing many of you—AIAA members, students, corporate members, and other industry professionals. It has been exhilarating to have face-to-face conversations, see your progress in real time, and hear about projects coming up. Meanwhile, it is a busy time for the AIAA team, delivering new programs, preparing for events, and publishing material to move the industry forward.
Corporate Members Got Smart on Cybersecurity
Recently, AIAA hosted a cybersecurity online event for members who help manage their organization’s IT systems. The attendees represented over 20 AIAA Corporate Members. The event, AIAA Corporate Member Connect: The New Normal of Aerospace Cybersecurity Compliance, featured a briefing on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program (CMMC) by Carter Schoenberg of SoundWay Consulting. Attendees learned the current status of the CMMC program and what’s next, how it affects aerospace and military space markets, what AIAA Corporate Members can do to prepare for CMMC, and how the CMMC program helps their company, products, and customers.
Nominate a Trailblazing STEM Educator in Your Life
Take a moment and think about a teacher who inspired you—someone who went above and beyond. If that person is still in a K-12 classroom, consider nominating them for the new Trailblazing STEM Educator Award.
AIAA just launched this annual award in collaboration with Challenger Center, the experiential STEM education organization created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51-L. Five finalists will be selected from the nominations. Each of the five finalists and their respective schools will be awarded $5,000; each finalist will also receive free access to Challenger Center’s STEM programs, a trip to Washington, DC, to be honored at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, and a special presentation ceremony at their school. Read all about the award and submit a nomination through 30 January 2022.
Consider Membership with National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
AIAA has formalized our collaboration with the Aerospace Special Interest Group of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE Aerospace SIG) following our ongoing work on events and initiatives throughout the year. This new agreement provides AIAA members with a reciprocal membership with NSBE at a discounted rate, and access to member rates for NSBE events.
Recently, I was honored to be part of a meeting between NSBE and AIAA members in Minnesota. AIAA shares a deep commitment with the NSBE Aerospace SIG to increase active participation by Black professionals in the engineering profession specifically, and the aerospace industry more broadly. I encourage you to find the NSBE chapter near you and get involved.
Access the New Video Library for Technical Papers
AIAA launched our new video library—a digital archive of video presentations presented by technical paper authors at AIAA events. These videos are an additional benefit to the event’s conference proceedings. If you purchased or attended an AIAA virtual event in 2020 or 2021 where your registration included meeting papers, you have access to that event’s videos. Access is provided via your AIAA account credentials. In the future, the AIAA video library will also be the place to see archive videos from plenary and panel sessions held at AIAA events. New content will be added regularly. Log in today.
2021 ASCEND is just around the corner. We are excited to present six days of content to accelerate our off-world future faster. Registration for both in-person events will close on 10 November.
Register for the in-person experience at Caesars Forum, the most state-of-the-art conference and exhibition facility in Las Vegas. You’ll hear from top speakers from industry, government, and academia, plus enjoy face-to-face networking with colleagues.
We just announced the addition of astronauts from the three different commercial space experiences that occurred in 2021 (Blue Origin’s New Shepard, SpaceX Falcon, and Virgin Galactic’s Unity) who will appear on stage together on Monday, 15 November, aligned with ASCEND’s community spirit and global partnership.
Or you can register for the live-in person experience in Washington, DC, on 15 November. We are pleased to welcome Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Chairman of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, who will share opening remarks for the afternoon session, Policy for Growing Commercial Space Opportunities.
Registration for the full six-day online experience is open.
2022 AIAA SciTech Forum registration is also open. We will host a hybrid program, 3–7 January 2022, San Diego, and virtually. This year’s program—focused on the timely topic of sustainability—features over 3,000 technical presentations and an extensive lineup of industry leaders as speakers, panelists, and presenters.
The sessions will reach beyond traditional environmental sustainability to address the challenges and opportunities in many aspects.
Finally, I had the chance to witness the flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard Mission NS-18 near Van Horn, Texas. Onboard were postcards decorated with messages and art expressing visions of the future of life in space from students at Farmwell Station Middle School in Ashburn, Virginia. AIAA collected these postcards through our involvement as one of Blue Origin’s Club for the Future partner organizations. It was an incredible experience to spend the day with members of the Blue Origin team. We are looking forward to returning the postcards to the students, stamped “Flown to Space,” as part of our collective effort to help develop and inspire the next generation of space professionals.
Stay safe and well.
Dan Dumbacher
Executive Director, AIAA
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
12700 Sunrise Valley Drive • Reston, VA 20191-5807 • 1.800.639.AIAA (2422)
