Unified students head west to explore the aerospace industry
This year’s cohort of Unified Engineering students got a first-hand look at where their education could take them post-graduation during a trip to the West Coast. After a semester immersed in technical coursework, the group of 40 sophomores spent a week together touring leading aerospace companies and exploring opportunities to apply their skills in industry as future aerospace engineers. The trip allowed students to connect with both alumni and their classmates, bonding over the range of research passions that brought them to Course 16.
The Unified field trip is a longstanding AeroAstro tradition during MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP), but had been on hiatus since the pandemic. This year marked an exciting return to form, with one of the largest groups ever.
The students toured Boeing, Blue Origin, Lighter Than Air, and alumni-founded Wisk Aero and Astranis. “My favorite visit was definitely the Boeing tour,” says Jorge Cavazos ‘27. “Getting to see dozens of planes on the assembly floor was awesome and inspiring. Also, getting to hear from engineers about their day-to-day lives, seeing the products they are making, and getting a history of the company and work being done there was a very valuable experience.”
Each company highlighted how topics like additive manufacturing, human-centered design, and human-robot interaction – all features of the Course 16 curriculum – are driving innovation in the aerospace industry. “The trip has opened everything for me,” says Vaibhavi Addala ‘27. “Everything within what you’re doing has cross-industry potential.”
Faculty accompanied the students throughout their trip, including Prof. Masha Folk, who will be teaching 16.003 and 16.004, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, during the spring semester. “I really enjoyed watching the students discover themselves on the industry visits,” says Folk. “One student said to me that he chose AeroAstro because he always liked space, but seeing the airplanes and engines in the Boeing Everett facility made him really excited about aerodynamics. I got to see the range of interests in our AeroAstro sophomore class which I plan to incorporate into my teachings.”
The trip also included a tour of Seattle’s Museum of Flight, followed by a reception at the museum with AeroAstro alumni spanning generations. Graduates from the class of 1959 to the class of 2021 – all sporting their iconic brass rats – recounted triumphs and tribulations from years of psets past. Lilly Johannan ‘27 left the event with a newfound appreciation for the industry’s progress, particularly for young women in the field, and excitement for connections to come. “The MIT aerospace community seems close-knit and committed to supporting each other, and it made me feel welcome,” she reflected.
Associate Department Head Olivier de Weck echoed this sentiment, reminding alumni that whenever they miss building 33, they can head east on I-90 and end up back in Cambridge, where they are always part of the community.
