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). 

Project: Aerial Robotics and Experimental Autonomy Lab - UAV and test rig component design and fabrication (Paid Position)
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Predominantly in person, but remote work is possible when applicable
Project Manager: Lee Whitcher
Action: Email your resume and interest to Lee Whitcher (leewhitcher@gatech.edu). Please also include any examples of fabrication work that you have completed.
Office: MK 207
Semesters: Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Summer 2024
Time Commitment: Subject to discussion with the candidate - it can be tailored to a large degree
Number of Students Needed: 1-2
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement (optional): No
Majors: Open to all majors
Details: GT-AE's Aerial Robotics and Experimental Autonomy Lab (AREAL) is embarking on multiple UAV development activities that require design, fabrication, and testing of components against performance criteria. We are looking for people with demonstrated skills in either: (a) digital fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and laser cutting, (b) metal milling and turning (manual or CNC), or (c) RC plane wing fabrication. These skills need not be fulfilled by a single person so please apply even if you feel qualified in only one area. 

Project: ASDL GT Logistics Discrete Event Simulation – Programmatic Research
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? In-person is preferred
Project Manager: Mr. Jeff McNabb
Action: Email your resume and interest to Mr. Jeff McNabb (jmcnabb3@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 110
Semesters: Fall 2023
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 2-4
Citizenship Requirement: No
Majors: All Majors
Details: “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.” As the world has become more globalized, the need for understanding the impacts of logistics on the performance of any systems is paramount. The ASDL is currently developing an in-house logistics discrete event simulation software package to assist other research endeavors. To support this development and increase the capability of the simulation, the team is looking to incorporate various logistical algorithms related to route optimization, maintenance planning, load scheduling. Students joining this team will help with researching existing logistical algorithms and identifying the best in-class ones for integration. Existing knowledge of logistics is a plus.

Project: ASDL - FAA - Natural Language Processing (NLP) for National Airspace Safety Modeling
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes, although it would be preferable to meet in-person
Project Manager: Dr. Mayank Bendarkar
Action: Email your resume and interest to Dr. Mayank Bendarkar (mbendarkar3@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 302
Semesters: Fall 2023, Spring 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: 2-3
Citizenship Requirement: No
Majors: Open to all majors
Details: ASDL’s GT National Airspace (NAS) Safety research team is collaborating with the FAA to develop state-of-the-art natural (large) language models specific to the Aviation domain. These models will be used by the FAA to characterize and quantify the safety of the NAS within their Integrated Safety Assessment Model (ISAM). We are looking for UG students excited to work in applied ML/NLP for aviation accident and safety analysis. Students joining this team will help out with data processing, analytics, and machine learning. Existing skills with Python are a plus

Project: SAFRAN Alternative Energy Carriers Literature Search
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? No, need to meet in person with the existing team
Project Manager: Dr. Elena Garcia
Action: Email your resume and interest to Dr. Elena Garcia (elena.garcia@ae.gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 311
Semesters: Fall 2023, Spring 2024
Time Commitment: Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research, most likely 1 credit so 4 hrs
Number of Students Needed: 1
Citizenship Requirement: No
GPA Requirement (optional):
Majors: AE
Details: In the quest for efficiency and reduced environmental impact, aircraft companies have been exploring alternative energy carriers beyond jet fuel such as hydrogen or ammonia. This work aims to collect an extensive list of potential alternative energy carriers with their advantages and drawbacks. The alternative energy carriers will be evaluated considering their entire life cycle including extraction/collection, transformation and transportation as well as associated costs and environmental impacts. A few "fuels" will be selected for modeling and further study in order to consider their impact on aircraft sizing and design.

Project: ASDL Advanced Air Mobility Vehicle Economics
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? No, need to meet in person with the existing team
Project Manager: Dr. Cedric Justin
Action: Email your resume and interest to Dr. Cedric Justin (cedric.justin@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 113A
Semesters: Fall 2023
Time Commitment: About 8-12 research 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+ minimum.
Majors: Open to AE, ISyE,  and MGT.
Details: ASDL’s Advanced Regional Air Mobility research looks into the operations of Urban and Regional Air Mobility Vehicles. Part of this research is to investigate the economics of flying these vehicles over short distances. For this, the team will develop a rigorous python-based operating cost (direct and indirect) model. Research will be first made about the operating costs of typical narrowbody regional aircraft and will then be extended to smaller classes of vehicles. Students joining this team will help out with data processing of DOT and airline supplied data, analytics, and then with the generation of models to represent the various sources of costs (energy, labor, maintenance, financing, acquisition, fees and taxes...) of these vehicles. A strong interest in airline economics, airline management and airlines operations is needed alongside an understanding of economics. Proficient Python coding skills is a requirement.

Project: Studies on Rocket Propellant Sloshing
Project Manager: Dr. Álvaro Romero-Calvo
Office: ESM 203B
Semesters: Ongoing long-term effort
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to 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: 3.5+ preferred; 3.2 minimum
Seniority Requirement: Students should have passed AE-201X -Thermodynamics & Fluid Mechanics- with (at least) a B grade prior to joining this project.
Majors: AE-only
Action: Email your resume and letter of interest to Dr. Álvaro Romero Calvo (alvaro.romerocalvo@gatech.edu)
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: Aeroelastic modeling and optimization of truss-braced wings using OpenAeroStruct and OpenMDAO 
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? In person meetings are mandatory 
Project Manager: Prof. Graeme Kennedy 
Action: Email your resume and describe your interest in the project to graeme.kennedy@aerospace.gatech.edu 
Office: Weber 204 
Semesters: Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. 
Time Commitment: For credit approximately 3 to 9 hours per week. 
Number of Students Needed: 1 or 2. 
Citizenship Requirement: No. 
GPA Requirement: 3.0 minimum. 
Majors: AE 
Background: Familiarity with aerodynamics and structures at an undergraduate level. Familiarity with aeroelasticity would be an asset, but is not required. Must be prepared to work in a team. 
Software: Coding experience using Python is required for this project. 
Details: This research project will consist of developing a doublet lattice flutter module for OpenAeroStruct for performing analysis of a truss-braced wing. Flutter constraints are especially important for the design of high aspect ratio wings. The truss-braced wing concept has been studied extensively, but there is renewed interest in it due to NASA’s X-66A sustainable flight demonstrator. This is a terrific opportunity for students that want to pursue graduate studies and are interested in NASA projects. 

Project: Numerical analysis of thermal boundary conditions on turbulent shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions (SBLI) using large eddy simulation (LES).
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Remotely is okay, however on campus in-person meetings are also required as needed. Priority will be given to students who are able to work on campus.
Project Manager: Julia Muller and Dr. Joseph Oefelein.
Action: Email your resume and interest to jmuller7@gatech.edu .
Office: Montgomery Knight, Room 212.
Semesters: Fall 2023 and Spring 2024.
Time Commitment: For credit approximately 3 to 9 hours per week.
Number of Students Needed: 1 (possibly 2 depending on experience).
Citizenship Requirement: No.
GPA Requirement (optional): 3.0 minimum.
Majors: AE, CS, ME.
Background: Familiarity with compressible flows at supersonic conditions, heat transfer, thermodynamics, turbulence, and viscous flow is preferred.
Software: Coding experience is required and is an integral part of the research. Familiarity with Python and/or Fortran is required. Linux, ParaView, and/or parallel (MPI or GPU) programming are beneficial but not required.
Details: This research focuses on simulating SBLI that are exposed to various solid wall thermal loading at hypersonic conditions. Research tasks will involve assisting with generating, running, and post-processing a parametric set of cases using LES. The student must be detail oriented and able to work independently. This is a fantastic opportunity for a student who wishes to pursue graduate school since it provides experience in the areas of turbulence modeling and simulation and hypersonics. If you are interested in coding, computational fluid dynamics, hypersonic flows, and turbulence, this is the research for you!

Project: Various experimental research activities in the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab
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)
Office: Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab
Semesters: Ongoing, mostly during Fall and Spring semesters.
Time Commitment: Typically about 10 hrs per week, but lower commitments possible. 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:  Fall 2023, 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: 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 / Dr. Scott Duncan
Action: Email your resume and interest to Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe (j.lewe@gatech.edu) and cc: Dr. Scott Duncan (duncan@gatech.edu)
Office: Weber 100
Semesters: Fall 2023
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 1-2
Citizenship Requirement: No
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 (using Raspberry Pi-based consumer-grade IoT computing devices that transmit data home over GTwifi), database design, or any combination thereof. No experience is necessary but a natural inclination towards tinkering, hacking, and making is a must!

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 / Dr. Scott Duncan 
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: Fall 2023 
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 
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 / Dr. Scott Duncan 
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: Fall 2023 
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 
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: Design, build, and test a magnetic field mapper
Can this work be performed remotely or online, if needed? Yes, but in-person meetings are preferred
Project Manager: Dr. Álvaro Romero-Calvo
Action: Email your resume and interest to Dr. Álvaro Romero Calvo (lowgravitylab.ae.gatech.edu)
Office: ESM 203A
Semesters: Fall 2023
Time Commitment: About 5-10 hrs per week (flexible). Scales to the number of credit hours registered for undergraduate research.
Number of Students Needed: 3-4
Citizenship Requirement: No
Majors: AE and ECE
Details: Magnetic field mapping systems create a high-resolution map of the magnetic field around an electromagnet or permanent magnet. The Low-Gravity Science and Technology Laboratory is looking for students with a strong interest in hardware development, electronics, CAD design, manufacturing, and electromagnetic simulation to design, build, and test one of such devices. This instrument will be used to characterize the magnetic field around the permanent magnets used in the low-gravity magnetohydrodynamic projects pursued by the lab. It will also be employed to test magnetorquers and other electromagnetic spacecraft attitude control systems. We aim to produce a low-cost, open-source device that helps support academic research with a fraction of the cost imposed by commercial alternatives. The mapper should be operative by the end of 2023.

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)