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
- NSF Grant Funds New Industry-University Cooperative Research Center at Saint Louis Universityaint Louis University, along with The Ohio State University and Purdue University, will establish a new, innovative industry-university cooperative research center. A $2.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund the launch of CAGE, the Center for Accurate Georeferencing of the Environment. SLU will receive $500,000 to support its campus operations.
- Feser Inaugurated as SLU's 34th PresidentSaint Louis University officially inaugurated Edward J. Feser, Ph.D., as its 34th president in a ceremony today. Feser, a Jesuit-educated leader in higher education, assumed the presidency on July 1. Themed "Igniting Hope, Growing in Community," the inauguration celebrated the light of hope that inspires this moment and the new possibilities we can cultivate -- together -- in service to the greater good.
- University Hosts Mass of Hope and Community Ahead of Wednesday's InauguralMembers of the Saint Louis University community gathered in St. Francis Xavier College Church on Tuesday, Nov. 4, for a special Mass to celebrate the inauguration of SLU's 34th president, Edward Feser, Ph.D. The Mass took place before the official inauguration ceremony, which will be held at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Chaifetz Arena.
- SLU, Collegiate Strengthen High School-to-Medical School PathwayA partnership between Saint Louis University School of Medicine and local high school Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience serves as a model for how early exposure and mentorship can transform lives—and communities— as SLU invests in future physicians.
- St. Louis Literary Award Discussion with Director Mira Nair Moved to November 13Saint Louis University will hold a Zoom discussion with "The Namesake" director Mira Nair on Thursday, Nov. 13. "The Namesake" is based on the novel of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, the 2026 St. Louis Literary Award honoree.
- Two Companies Led By Saint Louis University Alumni Awarded 2025 Arch GrantsTwo firms led by Saint Louis University alumni received 2025 Arch Grant awards. GenAssist, led by Gabe Haas (SSE ’20) and co-founder Joe Beggs, and Decodable Reads, led by Paul Heinemann (A&S ’18) and Joe de Lorimier (CSB ’19), are part of a cohort of 19 new businesses receiving Arch Grants funding this year. GenAssist was one of four companies in SLU’s inaugural New Venture Accelerator (NVA) cohort in 2024.
