Before 1949, aeronautics research and instruction at the University of Maryland were limited in scope and were carried out by but a few dedicated individuals—most notably Professor John Younger of the mechanical engineering department. Younger shared a similar vision to that of Glenn L. Martin—that is, that commercial passenger flight on a large scale would soon become a reality.
1949 Aerospace Sciences Becomes an Independent Discipline
In fall of 1949, the aeronautical sciences option was separated as a discipline from the mechanical engineering department.
A. Wiley Sherwood was chosen as chair of the new department, beginning what is commonly referred to within the department as the Sherwood Era. During these formative years, most of the department's activity was focused on developing a quality undergraduate curriculum in aeronautical engineering.
With the launch of Russia's Sputnik in 1957, the department, along with the rest of the nation, took a keen interest in aerospace flight. The name of the department was changed from aeronautical engineering to aerospace engineering that same year.
To support instruction in the course work necessary for an aerospace engineering degree, Sherwood used lecturers and faculty from the nearby Naval Ordnance Laboratory and the Institute for Fluid Dynamics.
During those years, the emphasis was on teaching. Professor Gerald Corning taught leading edge courses in aircraft design and was the author of a number of nationally used texts in subsonic and supersonic aircraft design. The newly-constructed and self-supported Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel, under the direction of Donald Gross, was widely used in service testing by the automotive and aviation industries.
One of the most significant accomplishments during this time was the establishment of the master's and doctoral degree programs in aerospace engineering. This led to the department's first master's degree graduate, Dale Scott '50 (deceased). After graduation, Scott went on to a successful engineering career at the Martin Aircraft Co., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and later as a private consultant. The first doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering were awarded in 1963 to Irvin Pollin and John Nutant.
Department Milestones & Headlines
1999 - 2024 - Aerospace Engineering at Maryland continues to set milestones, achieve breakthrough research, and educate generations of students.
SUBMIT A MILESTONE
| 2024 |
Alumna and NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps headed to the International Space Station for a six-month stint in space, the UMD Balloon Payload team chased historic solar eclipses, Terps Rockets takes first place in the Spaceport America Cup rocket competition, Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel designated a heritage site by Vertical Flight Society.
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| 2023 |
UMD student team lauded for award-winning drone, and Representative Glenn F. Ivey (D-MD) presented team members with a proclamation during a special ceremony to commemorate their first-place finish–the team’s second successive win in a NIST challenge of this kind. |
| 2022 |
In a new spin on a classic Leonardo da Vinci design, students from the department designed a winning, working prototype UAV based on the “Aerial Screw,” and developed a working prototype, and department faculty part of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) team.
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| 2021 |
Professor Alison Flatau becomes department chair and Professor Derek Paley is bio-inspired to create soft underwater robot appendages that mimic the behavior of sea stars, brittle stars, and basket stars. |
| 2020 |
UMD’s Pioneering UAS Breakthrough organ by drone delivery recognized with an American Helicopter Museum and Education Center (AHMEC) Achievement Award, an Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) EXCELLENCE Award, and (in 2021) a Helicopter Association International (HAI) Salute to Excellence Golden Hour Award, Associate Professor Christine Hartzell is tapped to be a member of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Team exploring Asteroid Bennu,
and Professor Derek Paley is named a UMD Distinguished Scholar-Teacher.
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| 2019 |
The Clark School of Engineering celebrates 125 years of “Daring Vision. Lasting Impact,” and in April, the department’s UAS Test Site demonstrated the first-ever delivery by drone of a human organ for transplantation into a waiting patient. |
| 2018 |
UMD student teams take top spots, finishing first in theme and second overall at the RASC-AL Competitions while taking first in both graduate and undergraduate categories at the Vertical Flight Society’s Student Design Competition, and Professor Stuart Laurence receives both DURIP award and NSF grant to hypersonics research in his High-Speed Aerodynamics and Propulsion Laboratory (HAPL).
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| 2017 |
Professor Mary Bowden recognized with Women in Aerospace’s 2016 Aerospace Educator Award, researchers demonstrate new approach to using PIV in the Glenn L. Martin wind tunnel, and UMD team takes top spot in performance & operations at SpaceX Hyperloop Competition. |
| 2016 |
Newly discovered blue whirl fire tornado burns cleaner for reduced emissions; could lead to better oil spill cleanup, UMD students take first place in both graduate and undergraduate categories at the Vertical Flight Society's Student Design Competition, student team heads to SpaceX Hyperloop Competition, and UMD achieves first successful solar-powered helicopter flight.
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| 2015 |
Balloon Payload Program flies high with milestone 50th high-altitude ballon launch, student team wins NASA’s Robo-Ops competition and sets new course record, Department Chair Norman Wereley recognized with AIAA NCS Marvin C. Demler Award, and alumnus Kevin Bowcutt (B.S. '82, M.S. '84, Ph.D. '86) inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. |
| 2014 |
The UMD Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site is established with Matt Scassero as first Director (renamed to the UAS Research and Operations Center (UROC) in 2022) and three students receive Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowships. |
| 2013 |
UMD team makes history again with the first first cyclocopter ever reported in the literature to perform both a piloted and autonomous stable flight in hover, department alumni and faculty are part of hypersonics breakthrough with the X-51A Waverider, and the Clark School celebrates Gamera for landmark achievements in human-powered flight. |
| 2012 |
Professor Norman Wereley becomes department chair, taking over from Mark Lewis (2009-2012) and Gamera continues to push aviation boundaries, setting a new U.S. record for flight duration by a human-powered helicopter and is featured in numerous media outlets from NPR to the Wall Street Journal. |
| 2011 |
Department breaks records with human-powered helicopter, Gamera, is recognized by the Vertical Flight Society (formerly American Helicopter Society) with the 2011 Igor I. Sikorsky International Trophy, and named a finalist for the year's Collier Trophy, presented by the National Aeronautic Association. |
| 2010 |
Professor Emeritus John Anderson is inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, undergraduate team accomplishes a “three-peat” by winning third consecutive year at the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concept-Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition, and Professor Alison Flatau recognized with Women in Aerospace’s “Aerospace Educator Award.” |
| 2009 |
University of Maryland's Space System Laboratory (SSL) research team developing the MX-2 Suit is featured in Popular Science magazine, the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel gets a facelift, the Balloon Payload Team breaks high-altitude record by sending a balloon to 128,379 feet, and the department is awarded a $22.8M NASA grant for space-related research. |
| 2008 |
The Robotics@Maryland team wins Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and Office of Naval Research 11th Annual International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Competition. |
| 2007 |
Professor David Akin and the Space Systems Laboratory featured on Discovery Channel program about the Hubble Space Telescope; Professor Darryll Pines and colleague receive 2006 Burka Award for their outstanding achievement in the preparation of a paper contributing to the advancement of navigation and space guidance. |
| 2006 |
Darryll Pines, now UMD President, becomes department chair, alumnus Andy Berhard (M.S. ’95, Ph.D. ’00) wins the Marshall-Tan Vertical Flight Award for advancing the state of the art of Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) through the design, development, integration and testing of the Integrated Vehicle Health Management System (IVHMS) for the UH-60M aircraft, and the Advanced Robotics Development Lab opens in the new Jeong H. Kim Building. |
| 2005 |
Alumnus Mike Griffin (Ph.D. ‘77) tapped to be the 11th NASA Administrator, Professor William Fourney steps down after 11 years as department chair, the Space Systems Lab’s robotic servicing system, Ranger, was leveraged for a number of high-profile projects, and UMD’s Vertical Flight Society’s (Formerly AHS International) Student Design Competition team takes 7th consecutive graduate win with UMD-Condor. |
| 2004 |
The University of Maryland celebrates 150 years and NASA’s Astrobiology Science and Technology Experiment Program (ASTEP) utilized the Space System Lab’s technology to build a dexterous robot arm for deep submergence activities onto the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s SeaBed. |
| 2001 |
NASA’s Astrobiology Science and Technology Experiment Program (ASTEP) utilizes department’s Space Systems Laboratory to build a dexterous robot arm for deep submergence activities |
| 2000 |
Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center Awarded $4.6M grant renewal by the Army/NASA National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC) to advance understanding, improve predictive capability, and pursue opportunity driven concepts in rotorcraft technology. |
| 1999 |
The Department of Aerospace Engineering celebrates 50th anniversary, and inducts its first four members, as well as aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin, into its newly created Academy of Distinguished Alumni to recognize notable contributions to the field of aerospace engineering.
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1930s - 1990s - Aerospace Engineering Headlines from the Diamondback, the University of Maryland student newspaper
| 1977-78 |
First Full Year of Operation of Wind Tunnel as part of the Department of Aerospace Engineering |
| 1982 |
Center for Rotorcraft Education and Research is founded |
| 1987 |
Composites Research Laboratory is founded |
| 1990 |
Space Systems Laboratory is founded |
| 1992 |
Composites Research Laboratory moves to a new 5000-square-foot facility in the Manufacturing Building |
| 1994 |
NASA Center for Excellence in Hypersonics created |
| 1994 |
Ranger, a four-armed NASA satellite repair robot is rolled out for display |
| 1995 |
Smart Structures Laboratory created in the J.M. Patterson Building |
| 1996 |
Rotorcraft Center and Hypersonics Center moved to J.M. Patterson Building |
| 1997 |
Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory founded in the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel Building |
| 1997 |
Undergraduate students control SAMPEX satellite orbit and attitude determination |
| 1998 |
Acoustic chamber built for rotorcraft acoustics research |
| 1998 |
Department's graduate programs are ranked 10th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report |
| 1999 |
Meyers Building undergoes renovation to house aerospace research activities |
| April 19, 1963 |
Outer Space expands Aerospace Engineering |
| May 4, 1966 |
Wind Tunnel Assists Experimentation |
| March 3, 1950 |
Pines, Oaks, Shrubs Planted on Martin College Mud Flats |
| March 7, 1950 |
Glenn L. Martin Institute of Technology Expands Into $8,000,000 Building Project |
| April 1, 1952 |
Engineering College Conducts Tests on Modern Aircraft |
| March 15, 1940 |
Engineers Conduct Study of Airplanes |
| March 29, 1940 |
Professor John Younger Predicts Great Aviation Future |
| October 1, 1940 |
Professor John Younger Begins Aero Experiments |
| February 25, 1941 |
Professor Younger Receives Asme "Spirit of St. Louis" Gold Medal for Great Service to Aviation |
| September 19, 1947 |
Glenn L. Martin Engineering Building Plans Revealed to Public |
| January 13, 1948 |
Glenn L. Martin Engineering School Building Plans Go To Board |
| February 25, 1949 |
Four Engineering Buildings Cost $2,700,279.48, New Figures Show |
| March 4, 1949 |
Wind Tunnel Opening Slated For April |
| April 29, 1949 |
Martin College Occupied |
| May 20, 1949 |
Wind Tunnel Starts Operation |
| September 22, 1949 |
Aerospace Engineers Now In New Home |
| March 3, 1939 |
Professor John Younger of Mechanical Engineering Receives Aeronautic Award |
| March 24, 1939 |
Flying Course Here Seen As Possibility by Dean Steinberg |
| September 19, 1939 |
Maryland Gets CAA Air Course |
| October 17, 1939 |
Forty-One Take Aviation Course Offered By CAA |
| November 7, 1939 |
CAA Aviation Students Start Flight lessons |
