Aerospace engineering has grown dramatically with the rapid development of the computer in experiments, design and numerical analysis. The wealth of scientific information developed as a result of aerospace activity forms the foundation for the aerospace engineering major.

Scientific knowledge is being developed each day for programs to develop reusable launch vehicles (RLV), the International Space Station (ISS), High Speed Transport (HST), Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) and micro-electro-mechanical sensors and control systems for advanced flight. New methods of analysis and design for structural, fluid, and thermodynamic applications are required to meet these challenges.

The aerospace engineering major has been developed to address the needs of those students seeking career opportunities in the highly specialized and advancing aerospace industries.

Civilization, as we know it today, depends on the intelligent and humane use of our energy resources and machines. The mechanical engineer?s function is to apply science and technology to the design, analysis, development, manufacture, and use of machines that convert and transmit energy, and to apply energy to the completion of useful operations. The top ten choices of the millennium committee of the National Academy of Engineering, asked to select the 20 top engineering accomplishments of the 20th century, was abundant with mechanical engineering accomplishments, electrification (large scale power generation and distribution), automobiles, air travel (development of aircraft and propulsion), mechanized agriculture, and refrigeration and air conditioning.