AE Research for Pay or Credit

Most of the following listings are for credit, requiring the student to both gain the faculty's approval and register for credit. Students who have questions about this should contact the project manager directly. Research opportunities will be added as they are made available. Check back for updates. 

STUDENTS: To get credit for any of the following research projects, you will need to submit a Undergraduate Research Permit. and have it approved by your advisor. Find out more about undergraduate research here.

FACULTY: Email AE Communications to add or update your research listing(s). 

Last updated: July 19, 2024

• Wind tunnel/thrust test rig design and build (mechatronics, microcontrollers, stepper motors, etc.)
• Flight testing (indoors in the Indoor Flight Lab and/or outdoors)
• Software tools for data acquisition and analysis (flight test log processing, sensor integration, plotting, etc.)
• Flight control and simulation software (mostly PX4, Simulink, Ardupilot)
• Improved flight simulation visualization tools (Unreal Engine, X-Plane, Simulink)
• Fabrication of aircraft, subsystems, and test models (3D printing, laser/waterjet cutting, CNC machining, etc.)
• Improving propulsion system sizing tools (trends analysis, experimental data reduction, plotting, etc.)
• Battery life cycle testing

Project: Analysis of Rotational Habitat Atmosphere Dynamics
Project Manager: Dr. Álvaro Romero-Calvo
Office: ESM 203B
Grad Student: Eric Comstock
Office: ESM 101
Time Commitment: About 6-9 hrs per week (flexible). Scales with the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes, but active participation is required
Number of Students Needed: 2-3
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred; 3.2 minimum
Seniority Requirement: Students should have knowledge of integral calculus and differential equations, and be familiar with the Python programming language.
Majors: All, but Aerospace and Physics majors are preferred
Action: Submit your application using this form before Phase II registration starts. Successful applicants will be notified shortly thereafter.
Details: The concept of rotational artificial gravity has been explored in futurism and science fiction for decades for long-term space habitation, but it is unclear if the atmospheres of such objects would be stable without a gravity well confining them. As such, this project will investigate the feasibility of containing atmospheres using rotational gravity in large space habitats and quantifying the loss rates thereof. The Low-Gravity Science and Technology Laboratory is looking for students with interests in fluid modeling for (i) collisionless and collisional fluids, (ii) statistical simulation, (iii) initial value problems, and (iv) mass balances. The final grade is dependent on participation in weekly meetings and research contributions. (edited)  

Project: Aeroelastic Dynamics of Fixed- and Rotary-Wing Vehicles 
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Remote or online work arrangements can be discussed, but the student(s) will need to commit to frequent interactions.  
Project Manager: Dr. Cristina Riso 
Action: Email your resume to Dr. Riso to be considered (criso@gatech.edu). Briefly explain why you are interested in this research opportunity, what you hope to learn from it, and any relevant background. 
Office: Weber 210C  
Semesters: Rolling  
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hours per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.  
Number of Students Needed: Based on current project needs and capacity.  
Citizenship Requirement: No  
GPA Requirement: 3.5+  
Majors: AE 
Background: System dynamics and vibration background is required. Coursework or research / internship experiences in structural dynamics and aeroelasticity would be an asset.    
Software: Proficiency in at least one programming language is required. Experience with version control would be an asset.  
Details: The Structural Dynamics and Aeroelasticity Research Laboratory has opportunities for undergraduate students interested in contributing to ongoing research on aeroelastic flutter and dynamic responses of fixed- and rotary-wing vehicles. The students will work with group members in developing numerical benchmarks to test new prediction methodologies, explore algorithmic improvements in these methodologies, or incorporate aeroelastic predictions into design optimization frameworks, depending on interests and current project needs.  
 

Project: Aerial and Ground Wildfire Fighting Operations Research
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Not completely. In-person meetings are required.
Project Manager: Dr. Burak Bagdatli
Action: Email your resume to Dr. Burak Bagdatli (burak.bagdatli@ae.gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 303
Semesters: Start in Fall and Spring, can continue in Summer 
Time Commitment: 4‒8 hrs per week (1 to 2 credits)
Number of Students Needed: 1‒2 motivated students. Open to any major and program.
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred, 3.2 minimum
Details:  Wildland fires pose a pervasive threat, characterized by sudden occurrences and the potential for widespread damage to lives and property. The impact of climate change intensifies fire seasons, making wildfires increasingly difficult to manage. In the United States, significant resources, both federally funded and privately owned, are dedicated to firefighting operations, exhibiting a well-organized and managed approach. Globally, the problem remains the same for each country; however, with different systems, tactics, and climate! Our research aims to be all-inclusive with creating geographical data layers and description of systems and tactics.

This research aims at improving wildfire fighting operations by modeling the operations in agent-based simulation environments and observing the impacts of new technologies, changing tactics, and dedicating more resources to the operations. ASDL has been working with Lockheed Martin and Saab on this project and has been receiving interest in our work from entities such as NASA and the FAA. Come join our team and help us build the environment to test new operational tactics. Familiarity with Python is required. If you have skills in GIS software, we’d love to have you as part of the team! Additional programming language experience would be a bonus (Rust, C++, etc.) but not a requirement.
 

Project: ASDL GT Smart Campus – Sensor (IoT) development and deployment
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Not completely. Mixture of in person meetings with the existing team and remote check-ins.
Project Manager: Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe
Action: Email your resume and transcript to Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe (j.lewe@gatech.edu) and cc: Dr. Scott Duncan (duncan@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 100
Semesters: Summer/Fall 2024
Time Commitment: About 5-12 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 3-4. Open to any major and program.
Citizenship Requirement: No.
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred
Details: ASDL’s GT Smart Campus group has a sub-team that has been developing low-cost, wireless sensors to measure various properties relating to campus buildings: indoor thermal conditions, airflow, occupancy, exterior conditions, imaging sensors, etc. A variety of sensors already exist and can be modified, upgraded, or re-engineered to improve performance, as well as tested in various campus spaces. This team needs “hands-on” students interested in mechanical design (e.g., packaging via 3D printing), sensor software design, database design, or any combination thereof. No experience is necessary but a natural inclination towards tinkering, hacking, and making is a must! Please visit [here](https://energywatch.gatech.edu/about) for more details. 

Project: ASDL GT Smart Campus – Data Science and Engineering
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Not completely. Mixture of in person meetings with the existing team and remote check-ins.
Project Manager: Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe
Action: Email your resume and transcript to Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe (j.lewe@gatech.edu) and cc: Dr. Scott Duncan (duncan@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 100
Semesters:  Summer/Fall 2024
Time Commitment: About 5-12 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 3-4. Open to any major and program.
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred
Details: ASDL’s GT Smart Campus team of research faculty and students collaborates with GT Facilities engineers to evaluate data from campus buildings, central plants, and other infrastructure, including the ultra-sustainable Kendeda Living Building. Students joining this team will help out with data processing, analytics, and machine learning to better understand and inform the performance of campus energy (and water) systems. Existing skills with Python are a plus. Please visit [here](energywatch.gatech.edu/about) for more details.

Project: ASDL GT Smart Campus – Modeling and Simulation
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Not completely. Mixture of in person meetings with the existing team and remote check-ins.
Project Manager: Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe
Action: Email your resume and transcript to Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe (j.lewe@gatech.edu) and cc: Dr. Scott Duncan (duncan@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 100
Semesters: Summer/Fall 2024
Time Commitment: About 5-12 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 2-3. Open to any major and program.
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred
Details: ASDL’s GT Smart Campus team of research faculty and students collaborates with GT Facilities engineers to evaluate data from campus buildings, central plants, and other infrastructure, including the ultra-sustainable Kendeda Living Building. Students joining this team will help out with modeling and simulation of GT energy and water infrastructure. Existing skills with Python and Modelica are a plus. Please visit [here](energywatch.gatech.edu/about) for more details.

Project: Wind Tunnel Experiments for Rotor—Rotor Aerodynamic Interactions, Rotor–Wing Aerodynamic Interactions, Ship Airwake–Rotor Interactions and Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) Characterization for UAM/RAM Applications
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed?:  No. The work will be on-site.
Project Manager: Dr. Juergen Rauleder. Students will be supervised by Sihong Yan ( post-doc ).
Action: Email your resume and supporting materials ( the proof of access to AE machine shop and/or a poster on a previous project ) to Sihong Yan (sihong.yan@gatech) to be considered. Please contact Sihong for any questions related to background/software requirements.
Office: Weber 214
Semesters: Fall 2024, Spring 2025
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hours per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 1-3
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.7+ preferred; 3.5 minimum.
Majors: AE
Background:  Preferences will be given to students meeting one or more of following requirements:

1. Permission to work in the AE machine shop (MK105) by the start date.
2. Proficiency in CAD software;
3. Experiences with controllers( single-board, FPGA or RT-Linux ) and data acquisition system( data loggers or professional ADC modules( examples: LabJacks, National Instrument ); 
4. Fundamental understandings of analog/digital DC circuits/signals;
5. Experiences with digital communication protocols ( Examples: UART, SPI, I2C )

Previous experiences on wind tunnel experiments are preferred. Coursework or research / internship experiences in aerodynamics, structural dynamics, aeroelasticity and signal processing would be an asset.  
Software: Proficiency in one of the following languages ( C, C++, MatLab/SimuLink, Python or LabView ); 
Details: CEREAL: Computational and Experimental Rotorcraft Engineering and Aerodynamics Lab has opportunities for undergraduate students who are interested in contributing to ongoing research on experimental aerodynamics measurement of fixed- and rotary-wing vehicles. The students will work with group members in developing wind tunnel test rigs for multiple projects based on interests and backgrounds.

Project: Spacecraft Plant Chamber Monitoring & Control
Project Manager: Dr. Álvaro Romero-Calvo
Office: ESM 203B Semesters: Fall 2024 - Spring 2027   
Time Commitment: About 6-9 hrs per week (flexible). Scales with the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? No
Number of Students Needed: 6
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.7+ preferred; 3.5 minimum  
Seniority Requirement: 3^rd year + students with a background in plant biology AND/OR hardware development / machining AND/OR machine learning / artificial intelligence  
Majors: AE-only
Action: Submit your application using this form before Phase II registration starts. Successful applicants will be notified before the beginning of the semester.  
Details: A 3-year 6-crewmember mission to Mars requires ~11,000 kg of food with an 18-20% packaging mass overhead. With launch costs of the order of 23,000 USD/kg, bioregenerative life support systems are widely regarded as a promising approach to reduce future upmass requirements and provide supplementary nutrients to the crew. Plant chambers seek to address the second objective, but existing designs onboard the International Space Station (ISS) are faced with multiple challenges associated with the lack of effective gravity and the need for reliable food production methods. The Low-Gravity Science and Technology Laboratory is looking for students with a strong interest in space biology to (i) design and build an ISS-like plant chamber with temperature, humidity, air, water, and light control, (ii) test spaceflight-compatible crops in preparation for future missions, (iii) develop novel hydroponic and porous plant watering systems for partial-gravity environments, and (iv) train environmental monitoring ML/AI algorithms using hyperspectral imaging. Students enrolled in this URO program will be asked to complete a series of homework assignments aimed at providing a basic background on the topic. 

 
Project: Studies on Rocket Propellant Sloshing
Project Manager: Dr. Álvaro Romero-Calvo
Office: ESM 203B
Semesters: Ongoing long-term effort
Time Commitment: About 6-9 hrs per week (flexible). Scales with the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes, but active participation is required
Number of Students Needed: 10-15
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement: 3.7+ preferred; 3.5 minimum
Seniority Requirement: Students should have passed AE-201X -Thermodynamics & Fluid Mechanics- with an A grade prior to joining this project.
Majors: AE-only
Action: Submit your application using this form before Phase II registration starts. Successful applicants will be notified shortly thereafter. 
Details: The term “sloshing” describes the movement of liquids in partially filled containers. Sloshing is key for aerospace applications because it can significantly alter the dynamics of space vehicles or prevent propellant ingestion into their engines. Although research on liquid sloshing has been carried out for the last 70 years, multiple questions remain at the fundamental and applied levels. The Low-Gravity Science and Technology Laboratory is looking for students with a strong interest in rocket propulsion to (i) develop analytical open-access tools in Python or Matlab to study the sloshing of propellants in launch stages, (ii) build and operate an automated sloshing damping testbed for tank characterization, (iii) design and launch sounding rocket experiments to validate dynamic models assessing fluid-structure interactions, and (iv) study the behavior of propellants in simulated low-gravity conditions using neutral buoyancy mixtures. First-time students are required complete four homework assignments based on NASA’s SP-106 and F.T. Dodge’s “The New Dynamic Behavior of Liquids in Moving Containers” prior to joining the research subgroups. The final grade is dependent on the completion of these assignments, participation in weekly meetings, and research contributions.

Project: ASDL GT Smart Campus – Merging Campus Data with 3D Visualization
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes
Project Manager: Dr. Scott Duncan
Action: Email your resume and interest to Dr. Scott Duncan (duncan@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 306A
Semesters: Summer 2024​
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hrs per week (flexible).
Number of Students Needed: 1
Citizenship Requirement: No
Details: Work with GT Smart Campus team members to learn the latest tools for visualization of "built environment" systems (i.e., GT buildings, infrastructure, campus layout, etc,) and how to overlay them with various types of data sets regarding their use by humans and the loads and performance of energy and water systems. This will include the Kendeda Living Building (KBISD), the Tech Square Microgrid, and potentially other new campus construction projects. ASDL has access to massive amounts of data from campus infrastructure and is building systems to ingest, analyze, and visualize it. Special consideration will be given to those with CAD, BIM, or GIS skills.

Project: SMDO Outreach Content Developer
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? If needed, can accommodate remote meetings, but the preference is for in-person meetings
Project Manager: Dr. Graeme Kennedy
Action: Email your resume to Cameron Smith (csmith763@gatech.edu) and cc: Dr. Graeme Kennedy (graeme.kennedy@aerospace.gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 201
Semesters: Fall 2024
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hours per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 1-2
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement (optional): 3.5+ preferred; 3.2 minimum.
Majors: AE-only
Details: As a part of a new outreach initiative led by the SMDO group, we are looking for undergraduate students to be involved with current efforts to develop educational modules and content centered on numerical design optimization. The intent of the outreach is to teach middle and high school-aged students about optimization by relating the core principles of the discipline to our innate tendencies to optimize our daily lives. Students who join this effort will have the opportunity to learn about optimization, develop their technical writing and presentation skills, and impact the lives of the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Project: Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab - Tim Lieuwen
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? No, need to meet in person with the existing team
Project Manager: Dr. Tim Lieuwen
Action: Email your resume and interest to David Wu (dwu9@mail.gatech.edu) 
Office: CNES 222
Semesters: Summer 2024
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 6+
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement (optional): 3.5+ preferred; No minimum
Majors: Open to all majors
Details:   The Ben T. Zinn Combustion Laboratory at Georgia Tech is looking for undergraduates for the Spring 2024 semester. Previous experience is useful but not required, and this is an excellent volunteer opportunity for students interested in gaining experience in the field of combustion. The Combustion Lab focuses on hands-on research involving gas turbines, rockets, flame dynamics, clean combustion, zero-carbon fuels and acoustic phenomena.  There are a variety of skill sets necessary from machining to coding. Students will work directly with graduate researchers on various on-going projects and be given the opportunity to learn or further develop their machining skills, gain experience working with high-pressure systems, and apply theoretical knowledge to real-world experiments. Placement will be dependent on their level of experience.

Project: Motion Planning and Model-learning for Autonomous Racing
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? No, projects require hands-on work with experimental autonomous racecar platforms
Project Manager: Dr. Panagiotis Tsiotras
Action: Email your resume and a short cover letter explaining your interest, which semesters you are available, and relevant experience to Jacob Knaup (jacobk@gatech.edu) and Nick Zhang (nickzhang@gatech.edu).
Office: Montgomery Knight 425
Semesters: Summer 2024, and/or Fall 2024
Time Commitment: 9 hrs/week during fall and spring semesters, 20 hrs/week during summer semester
Number of Students Needed: 2
Citizenship Requirement: Yes –US citizenship required for NSF REU funding
Majors: Open to all robotics-related majors (e.g. AE, CS, ME, ECE, etc.)

Experience Requirements: ROS, python or C++, Linux, experience with control systems is a plus
Details: The Dynamics and Control Systems Lab (DCSL) is seeking highly qualified and motivated undergraduate research assistants for paid positions to support on-going motion planning, perception, and machine learning research on an autonomous vehicle platform. Students will implement state-of-the-art motion planning and control algorithms for high-performance autonomous racing, and create and train machine learning models to predict the behavior of autonomous vehicles.

Project:  Propulsion and Combustion Research in the CNES and Ben T. Zinn Combustion Labs
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? No, projects require hands-on work in the lab.
Project Manager: Drs. Mazumdar, Steinberg, Sun, and Wehe.
Action: Email your resume to Dr. Shawn Wehe (swehe7@gatech.edu) in April for Summer and Fall terms and in October for the Spring term.
Office: Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab, Rm 110.
Semesters: Ongoing, Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.
Time Commitment: Typically, about 10 hrs per week, but lower commitments possible. The commitment scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: Around 15-20 each semester.
Citizenship Requirement: Generally, no, though some projects may require US Persons.
GPA Requirement (optional): 3.5+ preferred; 3.25 minimum.
Majors: AE and ME.
Details: The Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab is one of the largest and most advanced academic research facilities in the world dedicated to the science and engineering of combustion systems. There typically are dozens of active research projects in the lab at any given time, on topics such as sustainability and alternative fuels, pollutant emissions, supersonic transport, hypersonic systems, combustion chemistry, multi-phase flows, energetic materials, detonations, plasmas, laser combustion diagnostics, reacting turbulence, and many other topics. This posting is for students who are generally interested in conducting research in the Combustion Lab. Alignment of individual students and projects will occur during interviews and meetings prior to each semester.

Project: Multiple positions in Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) Simulations, Solid Fuel Ramjet (SFRJ) Simulations, GPU programming and Machine Learning (ML).
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes, with GT VPN with occasional review in lab; email response expected when working. Weekly research schedule should be available.
Project Manager: Dr. Achyut Panchal and Prof. Suresh Menon
Action: Email your resume and interest to apanchal7@gatech.edu and suresh.menon@ae.gatech.edu
Office: Guggenheim 351 and 352; Computer lab Guggenheim 349
Semesters: Spring 2024, Summer 2024
Background: Familiarity with Compressible Flows, Thermodynamics essential. Turbulence, Viscous Flows, Combustion, Propulsion, Parallel Programming, CFD experience preferred but not essential.
Time Commitment: About 8-10 hours per week (flexible, can include weekends/evenings). Limited to students with minimum 2 years before graduation. Task completion is a successful milestone.
Registration: For active UG students; will get research credit in 2699 (2 credits/sem, 2 semesters max) or 4699 (2 credits/sem, 2 semesters max) depending on academic state. After 2-3 semesters if showing promise and still interested in the work will be paid hourly (but no course credit) on funded projects. BS/MS students with interest in MS with thesis in CCL are especially encouraged to apply.
Number of Students Needed: 4-5
Citizenship Requirement: No (but preferred)
GPA Requirement (optional): 3.5+ preferred, 3.2 minimum
Majors: Open to all majors; AE/ME preferred.
Software: Python experience/knowledge required; Linux OS, ICEM-CFD, ParaView, Tecplot, Fortran, C or C++, and parallel (MPI or GPU) programming preferred but not required.
Details: The research will focus on simulations of RDE and/or SFRJ cases and related reduced configuration. Students will set up and monitoring parallel simulations on the Georgia Tech supercomputing cluster, write Python scripts, process and analyze the simulation outputs. Other work may involve evaluating codes for GPU scaling and applying current ML tools to predict the simulations. Coordination with research staff and graduate students required and expected

Project: Solar Energy Generation at Airports - ASDL
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes
Project Manager: Dr. Cedric Justin
Action: Email your resume to cedric.justin@gatech.edu using email subject:
 ASDL Solar Energy Generation at Airport - last name, first name.
In the text,  include citizenship info, gpa, expected graduation date & level (1st year, 2nd year, etc.)
Office: Weber 113A
Semesters: at least one, could be two
Time Commitment: 8 hrs /week ~ 2 Credit hours
Number of Students Needed:  1-2 Self-Driven Motivated Students
Citizenship Requirement: None
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred; 3.2 minimum
Details: Airports are sitting on vast amounts of land that are not put to productive use. As part of this research, we will be reviewing how these large amounts of lands can be put to productive use by sitting solar arrays for in-situ production of electric energy to power future electric aircraft. We will investigate regulations regarding the sitting of solar arrays at airports near runways and taxiways. We will then use and possibly modify an existing environment to estimate the quantity of solar arrays that can be placed as well as the amount of power and energy that can be produced.  Interactions with the industry and presentation of results may occur during the Semester.
Requirements for the positions: Python Experience & some Autocad Experience
Sample projects & external collaborators: Possibly with NASA / NREL
Additional information:  None

Project: System Modeling Using SysML - ASDL
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes
Project Manager: Dr. Selcuk Cimtalay
Action: Follow instructions on slide #10 in the “Model-Based Systems Engineering Information (pdf)” presentation (see “Additional information” below).​
Office: Weber 104
Semesters: at least one, could be several
Time Commitment: 4 hrs/week
Number of Students Needed:  1-15
Citizenship Requirement: varies
GPA Requirement: 3.5+ preferred; 3.2 minimum
Details: Multiple potential position types (depending on interests). Most, but not all, of our Systems Modeling Language (SysML) projects require US Persons, either US citizens or permanent residents
Requirements for the positions: A key requirement is an interest in SysML (no prior SysML experience required) and a willingness to learn and explore
Sample projects & external collaborators: Lockheed MBSE - CubeSat testbed – NASA MBSE Pathfinder initiative – US Navy (NAVAIR) Model-Centric Engineering (MCE) – UAV testbed – NASA JPL: model-based systems engineering (MBSE); model-based wikis; embedded s/w – Boeing: MBSE model complexity & health management.
Additional information:  Model-Based Systems Engineering Information (pdf)