The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) student chapter at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is in need of funding to continue our work in the field. I am Dr. Lynnane George, faculty advisor for the student chapter, and the AIAA student president is Joshua Pappas. Together, we have organized over 20 events just in the past year and, unfortunately, have had to pay thousands of dollars out of our own pockets to support the mission of AIAA.
Our purpose is to foster knowledge and ignite interest in various aerospace fields such as structures, controls, propulsion, aerodynamics, and space exploration. AIAA will work toward its goals by:
A. Attracting professionals in the industry to give presentations/talks at monthly meetings
B. Encouraging members to get involved with local community STEM events
C. Working with various companies in the industry to arrange facility tours
D. Networking with other AIAA chapters state-wide and nation-wide
E. Other activities as deemed fit
The university has cut our funding for the club severely, but we are not going to close up shop yet. Just a few events we have hosted this semester include:
Kickoff meeting in Jan 2026 with Col. Kim Campbell, author of "Flying in the Face of Fear: A Fighter Pilot's Lessons on Leading with Courage"
Engineers Week in Feb 2026 featuring Dr. Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society and author of "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must."
March 2026 stargazing meeting with the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society
Participation in the AIAA Regional Student Paper Conference at Iowa State University
Artemis II Launch Party featuring Astronaut Duane "Digger" Carey.
Other events included a visit to the Space Force's Joint Commercial Operations Center, United Launch Alliance, and the Space Foundation Discovery Center.
Please help us continue to organize these events! We have a lot of events coming up that are unfunded by the University, including an upcoming experiment launch to the International Space Station in May, "Fungal Bioleaching in Microgravity: Fungal Approaches to Metal Recovery," and a high-altitude space platform launch of a radiation experiment to the edge of space in August.