Alumni & Friends
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The University of Michigan started the first collegiate aeronautics program in the United States in 1914, just 11 years after the Wright Brothers’ first controlled, powered flights at Kitty Hawk.
Since then, the Department has graduated more than 6,000 aeronautical and aerospace engineers. Our alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in essentially all areas of the aerospace enterprise, in related fields, in government and in academia.
Five were astronauts who orbited Earth. Three went to the moon.
Ed White (MSE 1959) made the first spacewalk by an American.
Jack Lousma (BSE 1959, PhD 1973) commanded Skylab and piloted the third space shuttle flight.
Jim McDivitt (BSE 1959, PhD 1965) commanded Apollo 9 and was Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program for Apollo 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.
Clarence “Kelly” Johnson (BSE 1932, MSE 1933) is widely considered one of America’s greatest aircraft designers. He went on to establish the legendary Lockheed Skunk Works, and led in the creation of aircraft such as the P-38, the F-104, the U-2 and the SR-71.
More than 20 alumni have been employed with SpaceX and were involved with the Dragon mission.
Learn more about our history: read Bicentennial website stories.
Alumni Spotlight: “You know your heart and you know your passion. So you call the shots. It is your future and nobody else’s. So don’t be discouraged by anyone.”—Sydney Hamilton, Aerospace Engineering, BSAE ‘13.
MICHIGAN AEROSPACE ALUMNI NEWS
Aero alum and Deputy for Safety at NASA talks about partnerships, working in space exploration, and flying across town for lunch
Celebrating Women Futures Month, the Smithsonian exhibit #IfThenSheCan consists of 120 3D printed life size statues of a diverse coalition of contemporary women STEM innovators and role models who are leaders in their fields.
Reflections from a recent Aero grad.
U-M Aerospace engineering extends belated birthday wishes to centenarian Jack Tsu, class of 1941.
Assistant Professor Aaron Johnson studies how students learn and ways faculty instruction can support students’ career launch.
July 30 virtual event highlights future lunar and deep space missions, the technologies to get there, and U-M’s research contributions to space exploration.
The highly coveted FXB Fellowship is given to exceptional Aerospace Engineering PhD students to support their research on the analysis and design of flight vehicles. Meet recent graduate and FXB Fellow Behdad Davoudi.
His top priority is to design and manufacture Taiwan’s own satellites and rockets.
The NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate has selected the Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute (JANUS) to explore high power electric propulsion systems for human exploration. Michigan Aerospace alumnus Mitchell Walker of the Georgia Institute of Technology will be the principal investigator and director. U-M Assistant Professor Benjamin Jorns will serve as co-director.
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