Two AeroAstro FPOPs showcase a cutting-edge aerospace engineering curriculum

Course 16 hosted two separate First Year Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOP) in summer 2025. The programs invited undergrad students who listed AeroAstro as their number one choice of major to experience the major alongside faculty and student mentors. 

This year’s Discover Aerospace program provided students with a classic introduction to aeronautics and astronautics on the cutting edge of space and aviation technology. Students learn basic rocket design to build and test their own rockets while exploring AeroAstro research labs.

A new FPOP program, Aerospace in Extended Reality (XR), launched this year to introduce students to the possibilities of applying XR technologies in aerospace engineering and beyond. Participants toured XR spaces on campus, learned the basics of aerospace with interactive XR applications developed at AeroAstro, participated in a mini-hackathon to develop their own XR applications, and took part in an XR scavenger hunt around campus.