The Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics is Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

's school of aerospace engineering

Aerospace engineering

Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...

 contained within the Purdue University College of Engineering

Purdue University College of Engineering

The Purdue University College of Engineering is one of eight major academic divisions, or colleges, of Purdue University. Established in 1874 with programs in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, the college now offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in more than a dozen disciplines...

. The school offers BS, M.S., and PhD degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. Its main office and some of its labs are located in the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering.

History

The school was officially established as a separate degree program on July 1, 1945, but elective courses in the field of aeronautical engineering were offered through the School of Mechanical Engineering as early as 1921. The aeronautical engineering option in Mechanical Engineering was offered as a full degree program in 1941, and in 1942, Mechanical Engineering became the "School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering." The school's present name was adopted in 1973.

Mission statement

According to the school's website, the mission of the school is:

"To serve the State of Indiana and our Nation by providing degree granting programs – recognized as innovative learning experiences – that prepare students to be exceptional, recognized contributors to aeronautical and astronautical engineering in industry, government laboratories and universities.

"To develop and maintain quality graduate research programs in technical areas relevant to Aeronautics and Astronautics and to foster a collegial and challenging intellectual environment necessary to conduct enabling and breakthrough research for aerospace systems."

Distinguished Alumni

Purdue aerospace has had a long tradition of excellence. Many of its graduates have gone on to become astronauts or other prominent members of the aerospace and defense industry. Purdue University has graduated 22 astronauts, more than any other public institution, and 13 of those hold degrees from the aerospace department. The only non-military institution to graduate more astronauts is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

. One-third of all of NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

's manned space flights have had at least one Purdue graduate aboard, and two of the six American astronauts to fly on the Russian space station

Space station

A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...

 Mir

Mir

Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...

 held Purdue degrees.

Astronauts with Purdue aerospace degrees:

• Neil A. Armstrong, B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, 1955
• John E. Blaha
  John E. Blaha
  John Elmer Blaha is an engineer, retired United States Air Force Colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of six Space Shuttle missions and a stay on the Mir space station....
  
  , M.S. in Astronautics, 1966
• Roy D. Bridges, Jr.
  Roy D. Bridges, Jr.
  Roy Dubard Bridges, Jr. is an American aviator, a retired U.S Air Force officer, the former director of NASA's John F...
  
  , M.S. in Astronautics, 1966
• Mark N. Brown
  Mark N. Brown
  Mark Neil Brown is an engineer and former astronaut with NASA.-Education:* 1969: Graduated from Valparaiso High School, Valparaiso, Indiana...
  
  , B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, 1973
• John H. Casper, M.S. in Astronautics, 1967
• Roger B. Chaffee
  Roger B. Chaffee
  Roger Bruce Chaffee was an American aeronautical engineer and a NASA astronaut in the Apollo program. Chaffee died along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy...
  
  , B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, 1957
• Richard O. Covey
  Richard O. Covey
  Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut.Born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he considers Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to be his hometown...
  
  , M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1969
• Guy S. Gardner, M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1970
• Gregory J. Harbaugh
  Gregory J. Harbaugh
  Gregory Jordan Harbaugh is a former NASA Astronaut.- Background & education:Harbaugh was born April 15, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Willoughby, Ohio...
  
  , B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, 1978
• Gary E. Payton, M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1972
• Mark L. Polansky
  Mark L. Polansky
  Mark Lewis "Roman" Polansky is an American aerospace engineer and research pilot and a NASA astronaut. Polansky received the nickname "Roman" as a joke, because he shares a last name with director Roman Polanski. He has flown on three Space Shuttle missions: STS-98, STS-116, and...
  
  , B.S., M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, 1978
• Loren J. Shriver, M.S. in Astronautics, 1968
• Charles D. Walker, B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, 1971

Other notable Purdue aerospace engineers:

• William H. Gerstenmaier
  William H. Gerstenmaier
  William H. Gerstenmaier has been the Associate Administrator for Space Operations for NASA since 2005. Prior to being Associate Administrator, Gerstenmaier served as the International Space Station Office Program Manager, at Johnson Space Center, a position he began in June 2002.-Early...
  
  , Associate Administrator for Space Operations for NASA
• Darryl W. Davis, President of Boeing Phantom Works
  Boeing Phantom Works
  The Phantom Works division is the advanced prototyping arm of the Defense and Security side of The Boeing Company. Its primary focus is developing advanced military products and technologies, many of them highly classified, and has produced breakthroughs in defense, space and security.Founded by...
  
  
• David Swain, former President of Boeing Phantom Works