NASA is calling all ambitious undergraduate and senior design students to dive headfirst into cutting-edge aerospace research—with the 2025 NASA Capstone: Aero-Structural Wing Design Optimization Project. If you’ve ever dreamt of engineering the next evolution in aviation, this is your signal to suit up.
This exhilarating capstone opportunity focuses on revolutionary aerodynamic research: optimizing wing design based on the 1933 Prandtl bell span load theory, known to reduce induced drag and eliminate adverse yaw—game-changing properties for futuristic aircraft, UAVs, and AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) systems.
What’s This All About?
This is not your typical student project and you’ll collaborate on mission-critical research that explores:
- Proverse yaw for sleek, stable aircraft without bulky vertical stabilizers.
- Structural trade-offs between elliptical lift and bell spanload wings.
- Designs for specific missions using advanced spanload tools.
- AAM-ready aircraft concepts that factor in storage, volume, and weight.
- High-fidelity modeling to unlock real-world engineering insights.
You’ll be supported by your university faculty and officially coordinated by NASA—yes, that NASA.
Who Can Apply?
- You must be enrolled at a NASA Space Grant Affiliate post-secondary institution in the U.S.
- A confirmation letter or email from your State’s Space Grant Director is required.
Pro tip: Create your NASA STEM Gateway account early—don’t let technical glitches ground your proposal.
What Should Your Proposal Include?
Your 3-page max proposal (plus the Space Grant Director letter) must:
- Identify specific design topics and student participation levels
- Show a realistic timeline of milestones and NASA interaction
- Highlight work products (models, simulations, presentations, etc.)
- Present a diverse technical approach, innovation, and mentorship plans
- Describe how your team will include students from underrepresented communities in STEM
How You’ll Be Evaluated?
NASA reviewers will score proposals based on:
- Feasibility and innovation of your project plan
- Cross-disciplinary student engagement
- Use of unique tools or facilities
- Diversity and inclusion strategies
- Milestones, deliverables, and your plan to monitor student success.
Color-coded ratings will determine who soars into NASA’s next frontier.
Why You Shouldn’t Miss This?
This is more than a research project—this is your launchpad into aerospace innovation. Selected teams will:
- Work on real NASA-led challenges
- Build a portfolio that turns heads at Boeing, Lockheed, or SpaceX
- Contribute to designs that may influence next-gen flight systems
- Gain national-level recognition and mentorship.
Participate: https://stemgateway.nasa.gov/s/course-offering/a0BSJ000002ydbd2AA/aerostructural-wing-design-optimization
Final Call!
The last date to submit your proposal for NASA’s Aero-Structural Wing Design Optimization Capstone is June 27, 2025, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.