YUAA Now A Student Chapter of the AIAA

About seven years ago, two undergraduate students formed an aerospace club and immediately delved into their first project: a weather balloon capable of photographing the New Haven skyline. Now, with more than 80 active members and several rocket launches to its credit, the Yale Undergraduate Aerospace Association (YUAA) is officially a student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

AIAA officials notified YUAA members last month that the club had been officially chartered. Besides an acknowledgement of YUAA members’ hard work and innovation, membership to the prestigious national organization brings a number of tangible benefits.

“It legitimizes us to sponsors in a way and it gives us more opportunities for resources and industry connections,” YUAA co-president Evan Haas said. “It’s also a great way to develop relations with other university groups and gain access to professional resources and competitions sponsored by the AIAA.”

Co-president Clio Byrne-Gudding added that was the right time for the club to seek membership to the AIAA.

“We have a lot of projects under our belt and we have quite a few members that we retain year after year,” she said.  “We decided that it would be good for us to do this.”

In a letter of recommendation to the AIAA, Mitchell Smooke, Interim Dean of SEAS and Strathcona Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science & Applied Physics, wrote that he has been “particularly pleased” with the YUAA’s activities.

“The organization has been working hard to attract non-STEM as well as non-engineering STEM students into their fold,” wrote Smooke. “The hope is that the group’s projects will draw students into engineering with the goal of having them work in the aerospace and propulsion industry. Being selected as an AIAA Student Branch is a well-deserved honor and one that I hope will enable the group to play a larger role in U. S. aeronautical and astronautical activities.”

Each year, YUAA members set out an ambitious agenda, and 2017-18 is no exception. They’re currently working on a number of projects, including a hybrid rocket, a tiltrotor plane with vertical takeoff and landing, a radio-controlled solar plane, and the multi-year effort of building and launching a CubeSat.

Another current project, an advanced three-stage rocket, is one of the club’s most ambitious to date. YUAA member Jack Roth noted that the rocket is not only bigger and designed for a higher altitude than any past YUAA rockets, it also has an avionics component, which greatly increases the project’s complexity. Due to the advanced nature of the work, the project is being led by two seniors and work on it is limited to members with at least one year of YUAA experience.

For an up-close look at the club’s work, YUAA will be holding its annual Aeronautica showcase March 6 in Sudler Hall from 6:30-8:00PM.