Internet

Resource Guide
for Aerospace Majors



Mischael Joseph
May 26, 2015

Table of Contents
1 Preface

1.1 Contents of the Guide _____________________________________________________________3

1.2 Intended Audience of the Guide__________________________________________________3
1.3 Assumptions of the Guide ________________________________________________________3
1.4 Organization of the Guide ________________________________________________________4
1.5 Tips for using the Guide __________________________________________________________4
2 General Websites ______________________________________________________________________5
2.1 The Penn State Aerospace Webpage ____________________________________________6
2.2 The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics _____________________7
3 Job Resources __________________________________________________________________________8
3.1 eCareer ____________________________________________________________________________9
4 Research Information_________________________________________________________________10
4.1 The Aerospace Database_________________________________________________________11
4.2 Journal of Aircraft _______________________________________________________________12


1.1

Contents of the Guide

Contained in this guide are invaluable online resources for aerospace engineering
majors. The guide provides abstracts on websites that will aid you in deciding what
path to follow in the aerospace field. Enclosed are important sources to learn more
about aerospace engineering as well as aid in starting any type of research. The
research information section contains information that an aerospace engineer may
find helpful in the design and production of any research or project. This guide
provides a means for keeping abreast of current developments in the field, and
allows a person to do any aerospace related research.


1.2

Intended Audience of the Guide

This guide is intended for the use of undergraduate students attending the
Pennsylvania State University and considering majoring in aerospace engineering. It
primarily can be used for those interested in learning more about the discipline
including Penn States aerospace curriculum, different career fields in aerospace,
and available research materials offered through the university. This guide has the
most use for freshmen and sophomores who are still choosing a field of study and
becoming more familiar with the aerospace engineering major.



1.3

Assumptions of the Guide

The user of this guide is assumed to be either a freshman or sophomore due to the
information in this guide being very introductory. This guide would not be very
useful for upperclassmen, because juniors and seniors would have likely learned
most of this information already.

Additionally, the reader is assumed to have a basic understanding of how the
Internet works. Specifically, the reader should have basic webpage navigation skills
and the ability to search for specific information they wish to attain. Finally, the
reader should have a Penn State access account in order to obtain certain online
journals and databases that Penn State subscribes to.

3


1.4

Organization of the Guide

This guide is organized to allow a student to quickly and easily find needed
information. The table of contents helps the user navigate throughout the guide,
highlighting any information of interest. This guide is organized logically, going from
most general to most specific. It contains three sections, which describe the focus of
each. It begins with two very important websites for aerospace engineers under the
General Websites section. The Job Resource section provides one of the most
valuable aids for students in pursuit of employment. Finally, the Research
Information section helps students looking for detailed information on specific
topics related to aerospace engineering.



1.5

Tips for using the Guide

Use the Table of Contents and the page numbers to navigate through the
guide easily and effectively
Be sure to look at the Location information of each entry. Certain resources
are only found after a sequence of steps and going through a few webpages
Be sure to use the tips at the end of each abstract. These tips will help to
navigate the Internet source and search for what you are specifically looking
for
Consider bookmarking pages that you find the most useful. This will make it
easier to return to them later on

General Websites

This section provides two websites that every student planning to major in
aerospace engineering will find very useful and informative. The first is a school
website which gives specific information about the Aerospace Engineering
Department. The second website is a professional association which is a wealth of
information about the aerospace field and is a great place to network.




































5

2.1

Penn State Aerospace Department Homepage

Website

Location and Availability
Home page: http://www.aero.psu.edu
Undergraduate Page: http://www.aero.psu.edu/ugradstud/undrgrad_stud.html

Description
This is the home page of Penn States Aerospace Engineering Department. It is an
online source of departmental information for undergraduates, graduate students,
alumni, and anyone else interested in in the aerospace department. Tabs along the
left side provide links to sections of the site regarding different subjects. On this
page you will see updates of recent news in the department as well as upcoming
seminars. Links to social media accounts of the department are also available.

In the Undergraduate Program page, the left side of the page offers links to
valuable resources important for most undergraduate students. Some of these links
include the academic calendar, office of student aid, and the schedule of courses. On
this page youll also find the undergraduate curriculum guide, learn a little about
some of the professors, and learn about ongoing research in the department.

Tips
Click on the Undergraduate Curriculum Guide to download the pdf
o This guide is invaluable to plan out all your courses from freshmen
year to senior year
Click People to learn more about the professors who could be teaching your
classes in the near future
Click Research to learn about the experiments that the department is
currently undertaking as well as the innovative labs where they take place
o Be sure to keep up to date on what research is being done because
professors will be posting positions when more help is needed in the
labs











6

2.2

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Website

Location and Availability
http://www.aiaa.org
Most of the site is free. To access databases and resource libraries, you must pay to
register as a member with the organization.

Description
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional
association whose mission is the advancement of aerospace for the benefit of
humanity. AIAA is the largest aerospace professional society in the world with more
than 35,000 individual and corporate members from 80 countries and is the
premier publisher of aerospace books and journals.

The website displays a number of AIAA programs and events that include
professional meetings and conferences, design and build competitions, meetings to
help shape public policy, and numerous events at chapter branches all around the
world. The AIAA has a student branch here at Penn State, and attending chapter
meetings provides the opportunity to network, learn more about aerospace
engineering, and bond with peers interested in the same subject matter as you. Also
available on the website is a career center providing opportunities around the
world, AIAAs library of publications and technical papers, and an up-to-date stream
of all aerospace related news.

Tips
Click on Publications to learn more about developments in the aerospace
field, as well as journals and papers from many great minds in aerospace
Click on ARC to the left-hand side to go to AIAA research resources
o In order to access the content in the databases, you must register as a
member
Becoming a local chapter member includes various benefits with incredible
value that can be found here: https://www.aiaa.org/Secondary.aspx?id=252

Job Resource

This section contains a resource which provides information and opportunities to
find employment in your field. The website included can help you learn of different
job openings, help you build a suitable resume, and aid you in advancing in your
career.





































8

3.1

eCareer : Engineering Career Resources and

Employer Relations
Website

Location and Availability
http://www.engr.psu.edu/career/
The website is free to all Penn State students in the College of Engineering.

Description
eCareer is an online resource that helps Penn State students in the College of
Engineering obtain co-op, internship, and entry level full time positions. Clicking on
Students will bring you to a wealth of valuable information to aid you in your
search for employment. If you click on Interviewing, you will get instructions on
how to approach every facet of an interview, from what to wear to common
interview questions. If you click on Job Search Timelines then Undergraduate
students you will find a suggested timeline of tasks to complete each academic year
to be a viable candidate for job openings.

A valuable resource of this website is the dedicated online job search system. This
search system requires that you have an active Penn State user account. You will
need to register an account with eCareer to use the services and instructions can be
found in Job Search Resources to the left, under the students section. After your
account is setup, you can edit your account in Profile. This will enable the system
to find job openings that match your qualifications.

Tips
In order to have an active account on the job search system, you must upload
a resume to be verified by the eCareer office.
As you scroll through lists of job openings in the job search system, you will
be able to save your favorite posting as well as save any searches you make
Use Advanced Search to specify Aerospace related positions as well as any
other restrictions you would like











9

Research Information

This section is most beneficial to anyone who is in need of specific information for
the design and production of any research or project. Included is a site that provides
journals that include detailed content about authors, theories, publications, etc.
Being introduced to these resources early in your undergraduate studies can be
very useful.




































10

4.1

ProQuest: Aerospace Database

Electronic Database

Location and Availability
Free through the Penn State Library
Go to www.libraries.psu.edu
Click on Databases by title in the Research Column
Click on Aerospace Database

Description
The Aerospace Database is a ProQuest online research database that is ideal for
finding technical documents in various fields of aerospace engineering. This online
database provides an engineer with more than 4.6 Million publications from 1962-
present. The website itself does not display each publication for reading, but instead
provides an abstract/summary for each publication and directions on how to access
it. The summary page also includes detailed information such as author, publication
year, source type, and document type. This database makes it easy to quickly look
though publications and decide if they are what you are looking for. These
publications cover topics from space sciences to the military and include content
from AIAA and NASA. The Aerospace Database is perfect for any aerospace related
project or research such as in an introductory design course project or group project
in a freshmen seminar.

Tips
By clicking advanced search you can search by type of publication, language,
and the publication date
ProQuest saves all recent searches as well as the items selected previously
You can make a free research account with ProQuest to save all of your
searches and documents and any preferences you have, accessible on any
computer













11

4.2

Aerospace Research Central: Journal of Aircraft

Professional Journal

Location and Availability
Free through the Penn State Library
Go to www.libraries.psu.edu
Click on Research Guides in the Research Column
Select Aerospace Engineering
Click on link to AIAA Electronic Library
Click on Journal of Aircraft

Description
The Journal of Aircraft is bi-monthly publication of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics. The journal is devoted to the advancement of the
applied science and technology of airborne flight through the dissemination of
original archival papers describing significant advances in aircraft, the operation of
aircraft, and the applications of aircraft technology to other fields. The website
features all the previous journals since 1964, available in a neat format. Each
publication has a page displaying all the papers included and gives you the options
of viewing the abstracts, adding to favorites, etc. The papers in the Journal of
Aircraft provide information in original research covering all disciplines in
aerospace. This journal can be used in furthering any research in fixed-wing aircraft
as well rotorcraft. New discoveries are added often so always be looking for new
volumes.

Tips
Be sure to use the search bar to quickly find papers on a specific topic

12