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From UAVs
to Avatar

Vector algebra has carried alum Emmett Lalish (BS ‘05, MS ‘07, Ph.D. ‘09) from UAVs to 3D printing to an Oscar-winning blockbuster.

Chart his path
Blue-skinned rider, from the Avatar movie, flying through the sky on a winged creature
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Why Aero & Astro?

We are the only full aerospace engineering program in the Pacific Northwest, and we sit among Boeing, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Amazon Leo and PrimeAir, and dozens of smaller satellite and launch companies. That proximity puts internships, capstone sponsors, actionable research and employment close by. Here you can run tests in the Kirsten Wind Tunnel or work on fusion propulsion and composite structures alongside the faculty leading that research.

Explore Aero & Astro at UW

News

Taghvaei earns AFOSR YIP Award

Taghvaei earns AFOSR YIP Award

Amir Taghvaei earns a prestigious award to improve nonlinear filtering algorithms behind navigation, tracking and forecasting.

NSF backs UW propulsion partnership

NSF backs UW propulsion partnership

Professor Knowlen's lab and alum Alexis Harroun are developing non-toxic rocket propulsion with $1.2M from NSF.

Mehran Mesbahi to serve as A&A chair

Mehran Mesbahi to serve as A&A chair

Mesbahi, who has been serving as interim chair of Aeronautics & Astronautics since November 2025, will begin his appointment immediately.

Events

Controls research

Smooth sailing

Samet Uzun (Ph.D. ‘26) has developed new mathematical methods that allow autonomous systems to handle complex, time-sensitive reasoning quickly enough to be useful.

Check his math
Close up of moon craters

Expanding the future in our labs

Our six research areas span everything that flies, from UAVs to spacecraft. Structures and fluids determine what a craft is made of and how efficiently it moves. Controls and integrated flight sciences govern how it flies. Plasma science and space systems look past the atmosphere. Much of it comes back down to earth, in applications to energy, manufacturing and transportation.

Explore our research

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Highflight is the department's alumni newsletter. Published annually, it features stories about students, faculty, research, alumni and more.