Resumen de Thrust vectoring design project at six universities
Paul J. Litke, Mark G. Turner, Rory A. Roberts, Markus P. Rumpfkeil, James T. Vankuren, Jeffrey Bons, Timothy B. Smith, Joseph K. Ausserer
A design and build project for undergraduate students has been established by the US Air Force Research Laboratory aspart of an aerospace outreach program. In the 2011–2012 academic year, undergraduate students from six universitiesparticipated in designing and testing a thrust vectoring system for a small (20 pound-thrust) turbojet engine. A descriptionof the student designs and the project parameters is provided in this article. Student and professor exit surveys were takenwith almost all participants contributing to these surveys. Based on the survey results and the professors’ insights, learningoutcomes and student impact were assessed. In addition, lessons learned during the project-based learning activity aredescribed in this paper. The project proved to be extremely successful, and professors and students in engineering can learnfrom the different approaches taken by the six different teams and the project itself. Industry will be interested in the depthand breadth of the undergraduate project that is implemented to educate the future engineering workforce.
