Illinois Tech MMAE

Big Red 3 is a 4-inch diameter dual-stage rocket developed by Illinois Tech Rocketry's R&D team to push the limits of the team's high-altitude dual-stage capabilities while serving as a platform for new structural, avionics, telemetry, and aerodynamic improvements.

On June 6, 2026, Big Red 3 successfully reached 41,788 ft at 1,695 fps, becoming the highest and fastest rocket in club history and marking only the second successful dual-stage flight in club history.

With a target altitude of 50,000 ft, Big Red 3 aimed to nearly double the performance of Big Red 1 (the team's first dual-stage rocket back in 2023), while using smaller motors and retaining a similar 4-inch diameter design. To achieve this, the team incorporated major improvements in structures, avionics, telemetry, and aerodynamics developed through projects such as Big Red 2, Centennial, and Pioneer 1.

The lessons learned from this project will continue to guide future vehicles, including Pioneer 2 and the next generation of high-altitude dual-stage rockets. Congratulations to Illinois Tech Rocketry Team!

Dear Armour College Community,

I write with great sadness to share that Professor David Williams passed away yesterday while attending an ONR program review at Texas A&M.

Dave was a deeply respected member of our Armour College and MMAE communities, an outstanding engineer, a dedicated educator, and a valued colleague and friend to many of us. His impact on our aerospace engineering program, our students, and our broader professional community was profound.

Dave brought both rigor and conviction to his work, and his high standards reflected how much he cared about the education and development of our students.

On a personal note, I first met Dave at an AFOSR program review in the 1990s, when I was a research scientist at NASA. I was early in my career, but Dave approached me and treated me as a respected colleague. He took an active interest in mentoring me, and from that time forward he became a trusted friend and colleague. That generosity, directness, and commitment to others are qualities I will always remember.

Our hearts go out to Dave’s wife, Lorrie, his two children, Sandra and Chris, and all those who knew and loved him. This is a significant loss for our community.

Sincerely,
Lou

Louis N. Cattafesta III, Ph.D.
Carol and Ed Kaplan Dean
Armour College of Engineering

Here is a link to Professor Williams' obituary:

David Williams - View Obituary & Service Information Share Memories and Support the Family.

Thank you everyone for your active participation in the Poster Competition today. Below are the winners as well as the recipients of departmental awards for 2026. The group photo is attached. Congratulations!

2026 MMAE Department Awards
Distinguished Alumni Award – Dr. Michael Plesniak
Excellence in Teaching Award – Dr. John Bernhardt
Excellence in Research Award – Dr. Carrie Hall and Dr. Leon Shaw
Outstanding Service Award – Lina Diaz
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award – Jonathan Horak
Outstanding Research Assistant Award – Sasindu Pinto and Junquan Ou

2026 MMAE Student Research Poster Competition
(1 place = $250, 2 place = $200, 3 place = $150)

Undergraduate category
Third place – Joo-Yeol Yoon, “Safe Autonomous Landing of a Mars Quadcopter,” advisor Dr. Ersin Das
Second place – Emiliano Mora, “Small Drones, Large Impact,” advisor Dr. Nelson Rosa
First place – Alec Weedman, “Reflected Signals, Revealed Surfaces: Using GNSS-IR Spectral Peaks to Decode Polar Terrain,” advisor Dr. Seebany Datta-Barua

Master’s category
First place – Jinchen Tang, “Demystifying the Fine Structure of a Heusler Phase Intermetallic Semiconductor: Mn2CoAl,” advisor Dr. Heng Wang

PhD category
Third place – Prashanth Tamilselvam, “Universal Scaling Relationship for the Frequency of Human Whistling,” advisor Dr. Francisco Ruiz
Second place – Adwoa Adunyah, “A Degradation Aware Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy for Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicles,” Dr. Carrie Hall
First place – Oluwaseyi Omodara, “Multi-Mechanism Powder Spreader for Powder-Bed AM: Experimental and DEM Investigation of Non-Spherical Powder Spreading,” advisor Dr. Amir Mostafaei

The recipient of the AIAA Scholastic Achievement Award in 2025-2026 academic year is Anna Elena Sofia Sebastio.

Research in the use of air for flight control of a tailless aircraft (by Professor Emeritus David Williams and Undergraduates at Illinois Institute of Technology, as well as NASA) helped to pave the way for the production of the X-65 by DARPA! Read on:

Air jets under pressure Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email With its X-65 demonstrator, DARPA aims to test whether today’s control surfaces can be replaced. Paul Marks spoke to the program leads about the design and forthcoming flight tests. For over a century, aircraft pitch, yaw and roll control has been provided by ...

Be sure to check out the Carnations new podcast series! Here's a preview: https://youtube.com/shorts/KBx-WXt5EGQ?si=BvZjf4wxeuMiFhBR Also remember to subscribe to IIT Carnations YouTube channel for updates here: https://www.youtube.com/

Understanding Navigation systems accuracy with a Stanford researcher Welcome to the first episode of the CARNATIONS-Waypoint Podcast, exploring research and innovation.In this Short, Dr. Todd Walter from Stanford University's ...

Wednesday, April 1st - MMAE 593 seminar with Dr. Farrukh Alvi, who will present “A Few Interesting Problems in Fluid Dynamics and Career Paths Such Research May Lead To” in RE 109 at 12:45 pm! Read abstract and bio here: https://www.iit.edu/events/mmae-593-seminar-farrukh-alvi

New time and location for the MMS Seminar! Daniel Chung will present “Fluid Mechanics of Riblets Drag Reduction.” This event is open to the public and will take place on Wednesday, April 8, from 2:05–3:05 p.m. in the Schulz Auditorium at the Michael Paul Galvin Tower. Read abstract and bio here: https://www.iit.edu/events/midwest-mechanics-seminar-daniel-chung

Be sure to check out and follow CARNATIONS on their YouTube channel to stay up to date!

CARNATIONS CARNATIONS: Center for Assured & Resilient Navigation in Advanced Transportation Systems A Tier-1 U.S. DOT University Transportation Center (UTC) focused on Resilient Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (R-PNT) and resilient PNT-related communications in multimodal transportation. Visit: www.iitcarn...

The 2026 MMAE Poster Competition is underway! All MMAE undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. students are invited to participate! Awards for the Poster Competition, as well as the MMAE department awards, will be presented at 4:30 p.m., immediately following the Distinguished Alumni Lecture (3:30 p.m.) in the Perlstein Hall Auditorium (PH 131). Read here for details: https://www.iit.edu/events/mmae-2026-poster-competition

The Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering welcomes our 2026 Distinguished Alumnus Michael Plesniak, professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at George Washington University. Dr. Plesniak will speak on Friday, April 17 at 3:30 pm in PH 131. Read his abstract and bio here:
https://www.iit.edu/events/mmae-distinguished-alumni-lecture-michael-plesniak