Wright State graduate students take first, second at engineering conference

Fro left: Chris Pestak, AIAA Region III deputy director of education, Francis Centlivre, Wright State graduate mechanical engieering student, and Mitch Wolff, professor of mechanical engineering at the the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) conference at Purdue.

Two Wright State University graduate mechanical engineering students took first and second place at a research conference at Purdue University. Their research on hypersonic travel, or travel faster than the speed of sound, rose above hundreds of other graduate students’ work from surrounding states.

Mitch Wolff, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering, said that after rumors of a Russian hypersonic missile the study of hypersonic travel is gathering buzz as a field of study.

A total of 13 Wright State students, two graduate students and 11 undergraduate students, split into a team of seven and a team of four, attended the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) conference at Purdue.

The AIAA Region III conference hosted students from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. It is one of six AIAA conferences across the country where students present their research.

Graduate mechanical engineering students Francis Centlivre and James Wnek took first and second place respectively, winning $500 for first place and $300 for second place.

Wolff said that Wright State does not participate in the conference every year, but he was incredibly happy to take a team of students this year.

“I was quite happy the students wanted to go and really happy with my two grad students,” Wolff said.

Centrlivre’s research will be published at the AIAA national conference, which will take place in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington D.C. Centrlivre will present his research for the chance to win $1,000.

Wolff said he is looking forward to the national conference.

“I’m happy for him, it’s a great opportunity,” Wolff said. “It’s a fun time, a lot of good work will be presented there.”

Wright State and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are partnering to host a conference on hypersonic innovations on April 26–28. The first two days of the conference will take place at the Wright State Nutter Center and is open to anyone in academia or relevant industries.

The third day of the conference is classified and requires secret clearance. Anyone who is active military or works for the government can register for free. More information is available at hic.dsigroup.org/registration.