By Megan Hale | Reporter
Aero at Baylor is a student-led organization that provides students with hands-on challenges and opportunities to turn their curiosity and ideas into realities.
According to Baylor’s Engineering and Computer Science website, the organization provides students with real-world experience in mechanical and aerospace engineering outside the classroom by participating in a variety of competitions around the country. Through these projects, students gain a better understanding of aviation sciences and engineering.
“We have all kinds of majors in the club, so it’s open to anyone,” Columbia, Mo., junior and president of Aero at Baylor Annika Moser said. “We don’t want to have any stigma around the engineering side of things. Our goal is to be able to teach other students and to bring up the next generation of engineers so we can continue this program.”
The organization is counting down the days until its next competition. The sixth annual 3D Printed Aircraft Competition will take place on July 9 and will be hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington. According to the competition’s website, as advanced 3D printing technologies have broadened the design space, the challenge and potential of design has also increased. Faculty and industry professionals will act as the judges for the competition, evaluating the aircrafts based on the innovation of design and longest duration of flight.
“You can’t do a project like this on your own — or at least, if you try, it’s not going to be as good as if you were to work with a team,” Goodyear, Ariz., junior and vice president of Aero at Baylor Dylan Murphey said.
Building a 3D printed aircraft is not a new challenge for Aero at Baylor students. Due to COVID-19, the University of Texas at Arlington was forced to cancel its summer 2021 competition. However, Baylor students decided to host their own internal and on-campus 3D Printed Aircraft Competition in April 2021. Moser said the encouragement of having a finished project outside the classroom was more than enough fulfillment.
“With COVID-19, it was really hard for engineering students because we weren’t allowed in labs, and we weren’t allowed to work in groups,” Moser said. “And that’s most of the degree, is working together to build, create and design. So this was like that first opportunity coming out of quarantine where we were able to do that, which was really exciting.”
Through mentorship, collaboration and teamwork, Aero at Baylor encourages students to work together and learn from one another through mentorship, collaboration and teamwork.
“If you really want to get something worthwhile done, you really have to work with your team and people with a wide array of experiences,” Murphey said.
Aero at Baylor has already begun preparation for the 2023 Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition in New Mexico. This competition is open to students around the world who are challenged with building a rocket that will be launched 10,000 to 30,000 feet into the atmosphere. According to the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association website, this is the world’s largest university rocket engineering competition, and Aero at Baylor students are excited to make their mark.
“I think building confidence is a really vital part of getting your undergraduate degree,” Moser said. “I really encourage everyone to be heavily involved in clubs outside the classroom because I think being connected with people who also really want to be there in that same field can make really cool things happen.”
