SLU's Aerodynamic Design Team Sets Off for 2025 Design, Build, Fly Competition
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University’s Aerodynamic Design Team is heading to Tucson, Arizona, this weekend to compete in the 2024-25 Design/Build/Fly Competition. The AIAA Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Design Engineering and Flight Test Technical Committees event began in 1996 as an opportunity for university students to apply real-world aircraft design experience by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytical studies.
The team of students in SLU’s School for Science and Engineering will compete against other university teams from across the world in a multi-day test of the flight capabilities of the unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft the team built earlier this year.
SLU’s Aerodynamic Design Team will compete in the 2024-25 Design/Build/Fly Competition. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Joshua Nguyen, Emily Rollins, Jessica Rutherford, Caroline Hunt, Michael (Tan) Ho and faculty advisor Susheel Singh, Ph.D. Pictured in the back row, from left, are Yoa Peralta, Lydia Backer, Ava Alton, Cameron Kernaghan and Ikran Ali. Photo by Maggie Rotermund.
Teams need to showcase balanced design with flight handling qualities, built affordably while still providing high vehicle performance.
The idea of competing began last year, as a team of SSE students sought to enter their senior design project in the 2024 competition. Their design was not chosen, but the challenge appealed to some of their classmates. The Aerodynamic Design Team set out to make the 2025 competition.
The team includes Joshua Nguyen, Emily Rollins, Jessica Rutherford, Caroline Hunt, Michael (Tan) Ho, Yoa Peralta, Lydia Backer, Ava Alton, Cameron Kernaghan, Ikran Ali, Peter Mwaura, Nomin Erdenebileg, Russel Hymel, Ahron Bloom, Danielle Rogers and Jacob Plonka. Susheel Singh, Ph.D., assistant professor in aerospace and mechanical engineering, serves as the team’s faculty advisor.
The Aerodynamic Design Team (ADT) at SLU is a student-led club committed to providing hands-on experience in aircraft design and technical writing. The team started meeting in August and submitted its first proposal in October. The proposal was accepted before the end of the year and a final report was due in February. The team also needed proof-of-concept on its plane.
The unmanned, electric-powered plane has a wingspan of six feet and can reach an air speed of 85 miles per hour. The plane will compete in four judged events over the course of the weekend and the scores will be tallied to determine a winner.
The national competition begins Thursday, April 10, and runs through Sunday, April 13. SLU’s Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence (IC-CAE) is supporting the team’s travel expenses, the Student Government Association (SGA) covered the cost of manufacturing and building the aircraft and the School of Science and Engineering helped the students ship the plane to Arizona.
About the School of Science and Engineering
Saint Louis University formed the School of Science and Engineering in 2022 to better meet the future needs of its students and faculty. The school brings together select departments from the College of Arts and Sciences — chemistry, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, and physics — with the former Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. To learn more about the School of Science and Engineering, visit slu.edu/science-and-engineering.
Latest Newslink
- SLU Joins NASA-Funded Consortium to Advance Sustainable Space Life Support SystemsSaint Louis University has joined a NASA-funded consortium to develop a closed-loop biological system that can convert human waste into useful materials for in-space biomanufacturing. The innovations will help build self-sustaining ecosystems for future space missions.
- SLU’s William L. Clay, Sr. Institute of Civic Engagement and Economic Justice Seeks to Educate, Engage, and Empower Next Generation of LeadersThe William L. Clay, Sr. Institute of Civic Engagement and Economic Justice at Saint Louis University, launched in the summer of 2025 with a legacy investment from the William L. Clay Scholarship & Research Fund, provides immersive learning experiences and hands-on training that address the social and economic challenges facing the St. Louis region and the nation.
- New SLU, SSM Study Shows Ozempic Could Help Dialysis Patients Qualify for Kidney TransplantsObesity is one of the biggest barriers preventing patients with end-stage kidney disease from receiving a life-saving kidney transplant. New research from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and SSM Health physicians reveals that breakthrough weight loss medications could change that -- giving more patients a second chance at life.
- John F. Cross, Ph.D.: 1932-2025John F. Cross, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology, died Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. He was 93. Cross was a long-time professor at Saint Louis University as well as an alum, having earned his doctorate from SLU in 1964.
- Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship to Honor 2025 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame InducteesThe Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University will hold its 2025 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame induction ceremony at a dinner on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business.
- Gorlewicz Honored With 40 Under 40 RecognitionJenna Gorlewicz, Ph.D., who holds the Eugene Kranz Professorship for Excellence in Research in the School of Science and Engineering at Saint Louis University, has been chosen as one of the St. Louis Business Journal's 40 Under 40.
