Sanity checking one s computational results was the predominant skill requested for improvement For prospective interns, look for: good grades, keen interest, leadership, and Matlab knowledge For full-time employees, look for: ability to work within a team, good communication skills, being a self-starter, and demonstrated leadership 2
Limited to AFM departments of NASA and DoD: - All NASA Aeronautics Centers (e.g., Ames, Dryden, Glenn, Langley) - DoD respondents were Air Force, Army, and Navy - Missions vary from intelligent control research to flight test - Thirteen total responses 3
= 100 engineers Total = 271 AFM engineers 4
5 of 13 said yes with one saying they encourage pursuit of Master s or higher 7 of 13 said no. For research groups, B.S. alone was said to be insufficient from experience 1 said in some cases, but some lack cross-domain-specific knowledge. For example, MEs, EEs, CSs, lack the aeronautics knowledge 5
1. Technical: - Comfort with aircraft equations of motion - Estimation of stability and control derivatives using engineering codes and wind tunnel data. Could apply to a small unmanned vehicle in their senior year - More familiarity with classical methods of dynamics and control - Linear algebra with linear systems, statistics, C++ - More exposure to a systems approach - Familiarity with Matlab/Simulink is a must. Familiarity with object-oriented programming would be helpful (C++, Java, Ruby) - Some programming experience (C and FORTRAN) - Basic aeronautics would be of benefit for non-aero graduates 6
2. Practical: - Experimental and flight project experience - More software and hands-on experience - More experience applying theory to sample problems - Piloting experience is a plus 7
3. General: - Be able to do back-of-the-envelope calculations to verify computational results make sense. - Frequently seems to be a lack of interest in manually checking computer generated results for something as simple as order-ofmagnitude calculations or simply developing check cases for realtime-telemetry instrumentation calculations in areas where there are known answers. - Overconfidence in computational results is a common problem that I see from new hires. Students should make it a regular practice to conduct sanity check on the numerical results using simplified analytical or graphical methods. - Communication skills, technical writing, and critical thinking. 8
3 of 13 said yes. Especially as you go higher in the degrees. Ph.D. research is at a level beyond what industry seeks for application Learning to deal with ambiguity might be good to complement problems that have only one right answer Students work in exceptionally small teams (2-3) in their university courses Not a lot of candidates have experience with experimental data and flight projects 9
8 of 13 said no. Employer provides substantial mentoring and follow-on education (2) Getting more closely aligned. Web tools and team activities are good preparation for the workplace. Our active intern/coop programs help Industrial practice has probably drifted away from the academic model in the sense that systems engineering practices have been implemented, which are primarily management tools 1 of 13 said not sure 1 did not answer 10
6 Air Force Lectures 4 Army NASA Navy 2 Guest lectures 11
6 Air Force People 30 Lectures 4 Army NASA 20 People Navy 2 10 Guest lectures 12
6 Air Force People 30 Lectures, Classes 4 Army NASA 20 People Navy 2 10 Guest lectures Classes taught 13
6 Air Force People 30 Lectures, Classes, Projects 4 Army NASA Navy 20 People 2 10 Guest lectures Classes taught Project reviews 14
10 Air Force People 30 Army NASA Interns Navy 20 People 5 10 15
Good GPA (3) Interest in flight mechanics, schoolwork, aviation/space (3) Demonstrated leadership (3) Matlab/Simulink (3) Hands-on experience (2) [in school clubs/projects] Project participant, teamwork capability (2) Interests in the related research or intern job announcement (2) Personal interests, well rounded people (2) Communications (written and verbal) Persistence and self-confidence to figure out where an intern job might be and how to navigate the human resources maze to get hired for that job. 16
4 NASA Navy People 30 Graduates 20 People 2 10 Bachelor s 17
People 4 NASA Navy Army 30 Graduates 20 People 2 10 Bachelor s Master s 18
People 4 NASA Navy Army Air Force 30 Graduates 20 People 2 10 Bachelor s Master s Ph.Ds 19
Technical: - Dynamic systems modeling (3) - Control design (3) - Broad understanding of flight vehicles, aeronautics (3) - MATLAB/Simulink (2) - Software development (2) - Aircraft simulations (2) 20
Practical: Work experience as an intern (2) Experimental experience Flight test or flight project experience Hands-on experience with an unmanned aerial vehicle and/or radiocontrolled aircraft 21
General: - Ability to work within a team (6) - Communication, ability to present clearly and concisely (5) - Self-starter/self-learner (4) - Demonstrated leadership (4) - Interest in flight mechanics, aviation/space (3) - Good grades (3) - Proactive attitude - Motivated - Well rounded 22
Sanity checking one s computational results was the predominant skill requested for improvement For prospective interns, look for: good grades, keen interest, leadership, and Matlab knowledge For full-time employees, look for: ability to work within a team, good communication skills, being a self-starter, and demonstrated leadership 23
The responses to the questionnaire from the following companies are greatly appreciated: - NASA Ames, Dryden, Glenn, Langley - Air Force - Army - Navy 24
10 of 13 said yes. As requested (2) For our summer interns (2) Additionally, there are numerous college tours as part of the Naval Air Systems Command recruiting program. Must be U.S. Citizens 2 of 13 said no. 1 of 13 said unknown. 26
Varies widely, so no preference (6) (4) VaTech (3) MIT, GaTech, Univ. of Maryland (2) Purdue, Stanford, UVa, Cal Poly, Texas A&M (1) Kansas, MissState, Air Force Academy, NC State, Old Dominion, Morgan State, Embry Riddle, Carnegie Mellon, UC Davis, Minnesota, Penn State, Johns Hopkins, Univ of Cincinnati, Texas, Brigham Young, Michigan, UT-Arlington Local universities, since interns live in local areas Tend to favor universities with strong rotorcraft dynamics and controls programs 27
Graduates from: UC Davis (4), Penn State (3), VaTech, Mississippi State, GaTech, Wyoming, Dartmouth, Arizona State, Santa Clara, Iowa State, Purdue, Embry Riddle, Cal Poly, Kansas, Colorado, Utah State, Maryland, Florida, Brigham Young Preference for particular universities: No (4) Maryland (2), Penn State (2), Cal Poly (2), MIT, Purdue, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa State, UCLA, GaTech, VaTech, UVa, Johns Hopkins, NC State 28
Prefer local universities. Proximity enhances collaboration, and students do not have to relocate, which enhances our retention potential (6) Prefer universities that have been awarded a NASA Research Announcement, as collaboration has already started with that (4) 29
Yes. (8) Couple spend 6 mos on sabbatical. Typically have 1-2 as part of summer faculty program (3) No (3) Occasionally 30
Yes (10) Pays for travel to give guest lectures Advanced training program pays for tuition, full salary, partial per diem. National Institute of Aerospace receives substantial support. No Occasionally 31
Yes (3) Open to more support, but need to determine the funding mechanism (2) Open to suggestions Not sure how much support we can give No, to be honest this would not be possible without direct funding support No, due to shrinking budgets we do as much as we can now No, we are at our max Depends on a number of schedule and workload factors As you can see, we do a ton. I m not sure we can do any more. 32