DR. GILLIAN SAUNDERS-SMITS:
Have you ever wondered
what is necessary to design and
build aircraft and spacecraft?
How to realize the shape and
configuration set by aerodynamicist
and performance and
control specialists whilst
ensuring that the aircraft
or spacecraft will not fail,
but keeping in mind that it's
inevitable that they eventually will?
Hi, my name is Gillian
Saunders-Smits, and I'm
a professor in aerospace
structures and materials
here at Delft University of Technology.
Together, with my fellow professors from
the Department of Aerospace Structures
and Materials of the faculty of
Aerospace Engineering at Delft
University of Technology, we
will take you on a journey
through the considerations behind
the structural and mechanical design
of aerospace vehicles in
our course Introduction
to Aerospace Structures and Materials.
This course is one of the oldest
courses taught here in Delft, having
been part of our curriculum since 1945.
This doesn't mean, however, that
the course is old-fashioned.
Instead, like aerospace, the course
has evolved through the years.
It enables students to
understand and explain
the principles of airspace
structural and materials design.
Now, we are taking this
course on its next incarnation
by going online, allowing the whole
world to learn, think, analyze,
and design like an aerospace
structural and materials engineer.
During the course, we will learn to
analyze structural design problems,
from [INAUDIBLE] about material choices,
and make manufacturing decisions
taking into account the latest
development in the aerospace field,
and giving you access to
the most recent research
by our structures and materials
experts right here at TU Delft.
We will not just
explain theory, but also
show you experiments,
some of which you'll
be able to repeat at home by
yourself, so that you can really
get the feel for the matter at hand.
Next to that, we will
confront you with the dilemmas
we aerospace structure and
materials engineers face
when making design choices.
Balancing not only
weight and cost, but also
issues like availability,
structural material limitations,
and manufacturing abilities, also
ensuring the safety and durability
of aircraft and spacecraft in an
ever varying operating environment.
In this course, you will
think of design solutions
to airspace structural material
problems, challenge your creativity,
and just your innovation
and problem solving skills
to come up with solutions for
the multifaceted issues at hand.
Have you got what it takes
to join us in coming up
with the best solutions for the
design of safe aerospace vehicles?
Then join us and share in our passion
for aerospace structures and materials
by taking this course.
We look forward to seeing
you on board our course soon.
