Aerospace Engineering Education: An Industry View from a Preliminary Design Perspective

By involving all affected disciplines early, costly design mistakes can be avoided. These concepts are now becoming the standard for the aerospace industry. Indeed, the United States Air Force Material Command has mandated Integrated Product Development on all of their new programs. This is a difficult concept for tradition-bound engineers in industry to accept, and a radical cultural change in attitudes is often necessary before the IPD concept can be implemented. What does this environment portend for future aerospace engineers, and what, if any, changes are necessary in aerospace engineering education? Two considerations come to mind-the depth and breadth of the technical curriculum and the relevance of the student's design experience. I address these issues from the perspective of a Preliminary Design Department.