Graduate Student Wins Second Place at 2025 AIAA Conference

AEM student Sam Jaeger won second place in the graduate category at the 2025 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Region V Student Conference with his paper "Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Trajectory Design using Constrained Energy Maneuverability."

 

The annual AIAA conference was hosted by the University of Minnesota on April 2nd and 3rd, with students from over eight universities across the country traveling to Minneapolis to present their research and explore the Twin Cities campus. Presentations were judged by aerospace experts in graduate, undergraduate, and team categories.

 

 

Jaeger’s research proposes a novel approach to designing trajectories for hypersonic glide vehicles based on the vehicle’s energy, composed of velocity and altitude. This method is based on the idea of “energy maneuverability,” a concept first developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a solution to problems with high-performance aircraft and codified fighter aircraft tactics.

 

“It was really fun to be able to apply the historical concept of energy maneuverability to modern hypersonic vehicles,” said Jaeger.

 

For those interested in learning more about his research, Jaeger’s paper is set to be published by the AIAA within the coming months.