We find solutions to problems in aerospace engineering that advance the field
Our researchers make air travel safer, satellites smaller, and surfaces stronger. Our students learn to fly airplanes, launch satellites, and explore the multidisciplinary nature of aerospace and aviation from the capabilities of materials to the possibilities of space.
Sidney Boakye, mechanical engineering alumnus, received the prestigious Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship and interned at Rocket Lab in Los Angeles after graduating from Mason in May 2021.
"I am incredibly honored to be the first Mason student in the Matthew Isakowitz program. I have dreamed of becoming a rocket engineer since I was 10." –– Sidney Boakye, BS Mechanical Engineering '21
"We were able to get into the lab and learn by building things from scratch. That was invaluable in allowing me to feel very comfortable in any lab environment." –– Sandra Cauffman, Electrical Engineering and Physics alumna '88 and Deputy Director for the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA
Read Our Latest News
May 11, 2026PhD student Shahab Aref has developed a tool for the FAA to make air travel safer for millions of Americans through AI-driven, physics-based modeling.
January 26, 2026George Mason University will launch the Space Forward Frontiers Seminar Series in spring 2026, a one-credit, in-person course developed with Northrop Grumman and the College of Engineering and Computing that is open to students of all majors interested in the space industry.
August 21, 2025Cunio joins George Mason’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as an aerospace engineering expert and professor of practice.
August 15, 2025College of Engineering and Computing students are instrumental in building the payload for George Mason University's historic Landolt space mission.
May 29, 2025Four George Mason students in the aviation flight training and management minor took to the skies recently for a solo flight, the final step in completing requirements for the program.
March 5, 2025Mechanical engineering’s Jeffrey Moran continues to prepare an experiment to be carried out on the International Space Station (ISS). Via a powerful microscope in microgravity, the team plans to observe how common atmospheric aerosols move across a temperature gradient, information which would inform climate predictions, geoengineering proposals, and even HVAC applications.
December 4, 2024Darius Jack came to George Mason University with a passion for systems engineering and for flying. He’s been able to maintain his flight hours while earning a bachelor of science in systems engineering this May and an accelerated master's in systems engineering, his second degree from George Mason, in December.
August 5, 2024Mechanical engineer Jeffrey Moran, whose lab focuses on self-propelled micro- and nanoparticles, has loved outer space since childhood. Now, one of his experiments, exploring aerosol thermophoresis, will be carried out on the International Space Station.
June 10, 2024George Mason University will be the home of the $19.5 million recently approved Landolt NASA Space Mission that will put an artificial “star” in orbit around the Earth. George Mason faculty and students will work together with the NASA and NIST and nine other organizations for a first-of-its-kind project for a university in the Washington, D.C., area.
May 31, 2024George Mason's top-ranked aviation program allows students to earn a pilot's license while completing their degree.
May 8, 2024George Mason Systems Engineering and Operations Research students took first place in the Systems and Analytics Track of the Sage Memorial Design Competition and first place in the STEM Track of the Patriot Pitch Competition with their plan to deliver supplies to a hard-to-reach island in the Chesapeake Bay.
June 30, 2023Students from George Mason University's data analytics engineering program competed in the 2023 FAA Data Challenge Forum, using AI strategies to navigate air travel solutions and improvements.
Notable faculty in aerospace research
Missy Cummings
Mason’s youth and innovation attract world-class research
Mary (Missy) Cummings’ faculty appointment spans three departments—Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. She will also be the First American Bank Endowed Chair and Director of the Center for Robotics, Autonomous Systems, and Translational AI.
Cameron Nowzari
Patriot pilots fly high in blimp competition
Cameron Nowzari’s research focuses on the design of efficient, distributed coordination strategies for complex network systems.
Peter Pachowicz
George Mason readies reclaimed satellite dish
Peter Pachowicz is an associate professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. His current interests include CubeSats, SatCom, and SpaceCom.
Learn more about our other faculty in aerospace research
Lance Sherry
- Lance Sherry has pioneered research in data analytics and stochastic simulation of large complex adaptive systems such as the air transportation system, operations of airports, airlines, and air traffic control, as well other network-of-network systems. These analyses are used widely for strategic planning, business development, cost/benefit analysis, and system productivity improvement. He is the director of the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research at Mason.
Leigh McCue
- Leigh McCue’s research interests are in nonlinear and chaotic vessel dynamics and computational fluid dynamics. This work has been supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, the US Coast Guard, CSC, and QinetiQ. She is chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Vessel Dynamics Laboratory.
John Shortle
- John Shortle applies deep mathematical creativity to applied problems of societal significance. Many of his current research projects are funded by the FAA and NASA supporting the goal of making the future air transportation system safer than it is today. He is chair of the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research and has been an active member of the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research at Mason since its inception in 2003.
Medhi Amiri
- Medhi Amiri’s research interests focus on the behavior of structural materials under operational conditions, in particular the effects of materials' microstructure on performance under mechanical and environmental loadings. Amiri is the principal investigator of the Reliability and Mechanics of Failure Laboratory and an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Ali Beheshti
- Ali Beheshti’s research interests are inspired by the impending need for sustainable design and operation as well as prolonging the lifecycle of advanced components, especially focusing on surface mechanics. His research is centered around the performance of advanced materials and components such as super alloys as well as additively manufactured parts under extreme environments. Beheshti is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Tribology and Surface Mechanics Lab.
Our research collaborators include the Air Force Research Office, FAA, NASA, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, and many others.
Jay Deorukhkar, a student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at George Mason University, works with his team to create a satellite that will launch into Earth's orbit.
"I loved doing those things and I loved aviation, so I was seeking a way to bring these two together; systems engineering is exactly that." –– Darius Jack, junior in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research department
Degree programs
We offer degree and certificate programs in aerospace engineering from various departments. These programs include:
- BS, Mechanical Engineering. Concentration in Aerospace.
- Small Satellite Engineering Graduate Certificate. ECE department.
- BS, Systems Engineering. Aviation Flight Training and Management Minor.
- MS, Systems Engineering. Concentration in Advanced Transportation Systems.
- PhD, Systems Engineering and Operations Research.
- BS, Computer Engineering. Concentration in Space-Based Systems.
- BS, Electrical Engineering. Concentration in Space-Based Systems.
- MS, Electrical Engineering. Concentration in Space-Based Systems.
- PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- PhD, Robotics.