As many of you probably saw last week during the involvement fair, finding organizations and clubs that are interesting and exciting here at USC is just about the easiest thing you’ll do here. From Bachi Ball to Dragonboat to the USC AeroClub, USC has a plethora of organizations to get involved in. The Viterbi School is no exception.
One of my favorite organizations is USC’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics chapter (AIAA for short). The chapter at USC is valuable to me because it branches the gap that exists in many extracurricular involvements between work experience, and actually working in the field. Specifically, USC’s AIAA chapter caters to both aircraft design and career opportunities. Multiple times throughout the year, the chapter will bring respected names of aircraft design in for a lecture and roundtable discussion to shed some light on their projects in the aerospace industry, as well as entertain any questions that students may have.
Furthermore, the chapter participates in the AIAA design competition every spring. The competition rules change every year, so a fresh slate and a clear mind are essential, although experience gained from past competitions is valuable as well.This competition is purely theoretical, so no physical aircraft or prototype is fabricated; however, for this reason, the scope and possibilities for design of this project are not limited by resources. Essentially, if you can imagine and create it, you can enter it into the competition.
The USC chapter plans on having its first general meeting on September 30th, and a a Lockheed Martin Info Session Lecture following that meeting on a date TBD, where recruiters will be present and a roundtable discussion will be held to learn more about the company and the industry.
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about USC’s AIAA chapter, and I encourage you to check them out on Facebook here.
Until then, Fight On!
-Naish
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