A team of graduate students from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a team of undergraduate students from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University this week won NASA’s challenge to design the aircraft of the future. Six of the American winning students got a 10-week paid summer internship at a NASA research center, while the winner in the international category received a trophy and a certificate.
In total, 61 students from 14 colleges and universities around the world participated in the contest, which required them to create an aircraft that, among other characteristics, could carry up to 50,000 pounds, and cruise at speeds that are the average for modern airliners.
The students were also encouraged to come up with aircrafts that used alternative fuels and had a reduced environmental impact.
“The nation’s air transportation system is under tremendous pressure to increase performance and capacity without causing additional damage to the environment,” said Juan Alonso, director of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program in a press release. “Through competitions such as this, we are nurturing a new generation of engineers who can deliver the solutions we so desperately need.” —Maria José Viñas
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