{"id":43764,"date":"2021-04-08T10:03:07","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T05:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-uw-engineering.pantheonsite.io\/?p=43764"},"modified":"2024-03-18T15:15:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T20:15:13","slug":"new-aerospace-option-helps-launch-careers","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/engineering.wisc.edu\/news\/new-aerospace-option-helps-launch-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"New aerospace option helps launch careers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The aerospace industry offers many career opportunities for engineers, who can apply their skills to challenges involving rockets, spacecraft, airplanes and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, undergraduate students in the UW-Madison engineering mechanics degree program<\/a> can focus their education on this field by selecting the new \u201caerospace engineering option<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fall 2020, the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics<\/a> changed the name of its longstanding astronautics option to the aerospace option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen the astronautics option was created it was focused on space and so the name fit,\u201d says Engineering Physics Professor Matt Allen<\/a>. \u201cAnd while many of our graduates still go to work on launch vehicles, satellites and other space-related technologies, the program now includes some great courses regarding aircraft, and the jobs that our students get reflect this shift. The new name better reflects the courses that we now teach and the jobs that our students get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Engineering Physics Chair Paul Wilson<\/a> says another reason for the name change is that the term \u201caerospace\u201d has much better name recognition for both students and employers. \u201cSo the aerospace label will make it easier for our students to connect with companies at career fairs and elsewhere,\u201d says Wilson, Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And because the aerospace option is based in the department\u2019s highly regarded engineering mechanics degree program, students receive a well-rounded education and develop versatile skills. For example, in the engineering mechanics degree program, students learn the fundamentals of mechanics and dynamics\u2014topic areas that are key for aerospace applications but also for a broad range of other applications and industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the aerospace option at UW-Madison is not a full ABET-accredited aerospace engineering degree, Engineering Physics Professor Riccardo Bonazza<\/a> says UW-Madison\u2019s program has a strong track record of launching students\u2019 careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur students find great jobs in the aerospace industry and they are very successful,\u201d Bonazza says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UW-Madison engineering mechanics graduates have gone on to work at NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, GE Aviation, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Joby Aviation, and ATA Engineering, among others. An EMA graduate even founded his own company, Dark Aero, together with his two brothers, also graduates of UW-Madison College of Engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Bonazza keeps in touch with students after they graduate, he always asks if their education prepared them well for their jobs, and if the program missed any important areas. \u201cAnd the students say, \u2018Our UW-Madison education was very effective and covered all the right areas. We\u2019re able to perform at a high level and really contribute when we join these companies,\u2019\u201d Bonazza says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the engineering mechanics program has a relatively small number of students, Bonazza says there is a close-knit community feel and smaller class sizes, which enables faculty to have more direct interaction with students and develop a good rapport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the great advantages of this program,\u201d Bonazza says. \u201cThe students and faculty pretty much know everyone\u2019s name, and the students study together and really benefit from these interactions. It\u2019s an effective, highly positive learning environment that the students enjoy participating in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nA strong academic foundation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n