My name is Jack Langelein, I am an associate professor of aerospace engineering at

Penn
State's College of Engineering.
Aerospace engineering layers the design, analysis and operation of aircraft and
space vehicles
to allow for transportation, communication and exploration far and wide.
Aerospace engineering students complete coursework and fundamental engineering
principles to
lay the foundation for further studies in aeronautics, astronautics and specific
technical
areas within these fields, including aerodynamics, structural mechanics, flight
mechanics, propulsion,
controls, software and autonomy.
The aerospace industry is a huge contributor to the national economy, with $928
billion
in sales, 881,000 direct jobs and 1.67 million jobs in the aerospace supply chain.
You'll also find our graduates working in industries where our unique skills are
used
to develop products ranging from sports equipment to medical devices to
automobiles.
Penn State aerospace engineering alumni are well-versed in the use of systems
engineering
approaches to problem solving.
Many go on to graduate school, after which they work in industry, government or
academia.
Penn State's Department of Aerospace Engineering is developing the technologies
that will be
used in next generation wind turbines, airplanes, helicopters, rockets and
spacecraft.
I think aerospace engineering has been really important in improving the lives of
people everywhere.
Aerospace engineers tend to work on a system as a whole.
We're not just focused on one little component of a system.
Aerospace engineers tend to focus on the aircraft or the spacecraft.
So if you're interested in really big picture problems and in how the different
fields of
engineering like structures or controls or propulsion or aerodynamics or fluid
dynamics
all come together in one complicated system, then aerospace engineering is the
field for you.
You know, it's one thing to sit here on earth and to look up and think about the
things
that are above us that we can't see.
It's another thing to actually be able to figure that out, solve for where these
things
are, determine where they're going.
All of the work that goes into predictions and orbit determinations, we still have
this
area for improvement that leaves room for creativity, also extremely interesting.
I think my job is very, very exciting.
I get to balance so many different things and every day is different.
One day I'll be applying my aerospace skills to work on a new design for a
helicopter bearing.
The next day I might be working on an oil and gas project where they need some CFD
capability.
So I love that ability to take ownership of my skills and be able to excite others
and
solve real problems with them.
Aerospace engineering in the modern age has to incorporate so many different things
beyond
just structural engineering or aerodynamics.
We're able to get this flavor of all the different engineering aspects from
mechanical engineering
to computer science to electrical engineering to even physics.
Aerospace sort of takes all of those different majors and disciplines and throws
wings on
it or puts it under water and forces it to move.
The one thing I'd say I love most about being an aerospace engineer is the fact
that it's
taught me so many different ways to solve problems.
It's actually a very exciting time in aerospace, the ways that we're kind of
looking at taking
this new technology that we have with electrically driven propulsion systems and
integrate them
into vehicles in novel ways that people haven't thought of.
It's really exciting because now we can make aircraft more efficient.
We can make them much more environmentally responsible and actually even cheaper to
operate.
Across all disciplines, part of our department does material science research.
We're talking about smart materials, additive manufacturing, where you can 3D print
not
only vehicles, but some researchers are exploring fuel sources being 3D printed and
things that
are going to help society as a whole adapt to the changing environment.
One of the biggest things that I think that makes aerospace engineering unique is
that
as you progress through the years, you get to get a really unique experience in
that
the class size is really small.
For me, I was able to kind of build those connections and have that more smaller
school
experience here in such a large university.
I really want to be able to have an impact on the way we design our aircraft and
make
sure that the next generation of aircraft for commercial use are safer, more
efficient,
and better performing.
I hope to one day be able to see what I work on, you know, fly out into space.
We are now going through essentially the second space race.
I really, really hope to get the opportunity to work directly on projects that are
helping
the next generation of humans to go to Mars.
We have gone from that first flight to landing on the moon, to landing spacecraft
on Mars,
to be able to fly at supersonic speeds.
There's still a lot of challenges in front of us.
We have to make sure that air transportation continues to improve in its
environmental
impact and we have lots and lots of exploration to do in the solar system, so
there's still
a lot of exciting things for us to do in aerospace.