Education

Educational programs coordinated through the UNM Aerospace Institute include courses for individuals employed in the aerospace industry as well as classes to train those seeking a career in the field. For information on registration, please see the Registrar's Office, UNM Admissions; and the School of Engineering web sites.

Scholarships

Would you like to learn more about Aerospace Engineering and get a scholarship while doing so? To obtain a scholarship application form, find out if you meet the eligibility requirements of the scholarship, or to ask questions about this scholarship opportunity, contact the Scholarship Coordinator at elsac@unm.edu or (505) 277-5064.

Classes

Currently classes are held in the following fields:

Dynamics & Controls

Fluids

Manufacturing Engineering Program

Plasma & Space Weather

Space Communications

Structures

 

Dynamics & Controls

ME 510

Nonlinear Modeling and Analysis. (3)
Analysis of the behavior of systems described by nonlinear differential equations. Investigation of their stability properties and introduction to nonlinear control methods.
ME 516

Applied Dynamics. (3)
Kinematics and kinetics of a particle and systems of particles; Lagrange’s equations; three-dimensional dynamics of rigid bodies. Prerequisite: 306 and 357 and MATH 316.
ME 575 475./575. Random Dynamic Processes and Controls. (3)
The class will concentrate on practical application of random analyses to control systems. Frequency domain aspects of control systems will be reviewed. The course utilizes random analysis tools including Power Spectral Density and coherence. Student should have a basic knowledge of MATLAB.
Prerequisite: ME 380.
ME 580 580. Dynamic System Analysis. (3)
Mathematical modeling of continuous and discrete systems (mechanical, hydraulic, electric, electro-mechanical, thermal, etc.). Analysis of state equations. Controllability, observability and stability.
Prerequisite: ME 380.
ME 581 581. Digital Control of Mechanical Systems. (3)
Analysis and design of feedback systems in which a digital computer is used as the real-time controller. Design methods will include transform-based techniques using the Z-transform and time-domain techniques using the statespace approach.
Prerequisite: ME 380.
ECE 500 Theory of Linear Systems. (3)
State space representation of dynamical systems. Analysis and design of linear models in control systems and signal processing. Continuous, discrete and sampled representations.
This course is fundamental for students in the system areas.
ECE 514 Nonlinear and Adaptive Control. (3)
Linearization of nonlinear systems. Phase-plane analysis. Lyapunov stability analysis. Hyperstability and Popov stability criterion. Adaptive control systems. Adaptive estimation. Stability of adaptive control systems, backstepping and nonlinear designs.
Prerequisite: ECE 500.
ECE 541

Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes. (3)
Axiomatic probability theory, projection theorem for Hilbert spaces, conditioned expectations, modes of stochastic convergence, Markov chains, mean-square calculus, Wiener filtering, optimal signal estimation, prediction stationarity, ergodicity, transmission through linear and nonlinear systems, sampling.
ECE 546 Multivariable Control Theory. (3)
Hermite, Smith and Smith-McMillan canonic forms for polynomial and rational matrices. Coprime matrix-fraction representations for rational matrices. Bezout identity. Poles and zeros for multivariable systems. Matrix-fraction approach to feedback system design. Optimal linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) control. Multivariable Nyquist stability criteria.
Prerequisite: ECE 500.
ECE 595 Orbital Mechanics. (3)

Course content includes the two-body problem; elementary rocket dynamics, impulsive orbit transfer and rendezvous, and Lambert's Theorem with applications; patched-conic trajectories, planetary gravity-assist maneuvers, and perturbations.Text: John E. Prussing, and Bruce A. Conway, Orbital Mechanics, Oxford University Press, 1993.

Fluids

ME 528 Advanced Fluid Mechanics. (3)
Introduction to potential flow, compressible flow and viscous flow including lubrication and boundary layers. Applications to be discussed will be selected from topics in piping networks, turbomachinery, computational methods, turbulence and measurement techniques.
Prerequisite: 301 and 317L and MATH 316.
ME 529 Gas Dynamics. (3)
One and two-dimensional compressible flow of ideal gases
including shock compressible flow along with applications,
including numerical and experimental methods.
Prerequisite: 301 and 317L.

ME 530

 

Theoretical Fluid Mechanics I. (3)
Derivation of the Navier-Stokes equations. Introduction to two- and three-dimensional potential flow theory; viscous flow theory, including the development of Prandtl boundarylayer equations and the momentum integral approach, and compressible flow theory, including thermodynamics of shock waves, friction and heat addition.
ME 534  Boundary Layers. (3)
Derivation of boundary layer equations, similarity solutions, integral methods and experimental results for laminar boundary layers. Stability of laminar boundary layers. Boundary layer transition. Turbulent fluctuations and transport.
Prerequisite: 530.
ME 634

Turbulence and Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow. (3)
Turbulent flow with emphasis on thin-shear layer flow and mixing processes. Phenomenological descriptions of turbulent closure schemes and modeling techniques. Instability and transition. Numerical schemes for solving incompressible and compressible turbulent boundary layer and free turbulence equations.
Prerequisite: 534.

 

 

Manufacturing Engineering Program: www-mep.unm.edu/index.html

 

Plasma & Space Weather

ECE 553L

Experimental Techniques in Plasma Science (3)
(Also offered as CHNE 553L.) Theory and practice of plasma generation and diagnostics, coordinated lectures and experiments, emphasis on simple methods of plasma production
and selection of appropriate diagnostic techniques, applications to plasma processing and fusion.
Prerequisite: ECE 534. 
ECE/Physics 581 Introduction to Space Physics and Weather

 

Space Communications

ECE 441 Introduction to Communication Systems. (3)
Amplitude/frequency modulation, pulse position/amplitude modulation, probabilistic noise model, AWGN, Rice representation, figure of merit, phase locked loops, digital modulation, introduction to multiple access systems.
Prerequisite: 314 and 340.
ECE 469/569

Antennas for Wireless Communications. (3)
Aspects of antenna theory and design; radiation from dipoles, loops, apertures, microstrip antennas and antenna arrays.
Prerequisite: 360.
ECE 541 Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes. (3)
Axiomatic probability theory, projection theorem for Hilbert spaces, conditioned expectations, modes of stochastic convergence, Markov chains, mean-square calculus, Wiener filtering, optimal signal estimation, prediction stationarity,
ergodicity, transmission through linear and nonlinear systems, sampling.
ECE 542 Digital Communication Theory. (3)
Elements of information theory and source coding, digital modulation techniques, signal space representation, optimal receivers for coherent/non-coherent detection in AWGN channels, error probability bounds, channel capacity, elements of block and convolutional coding, fading, equalization
signal design.
Prerequisite: 541.
ECE 543 Digital Control Systems. (3)
Discrete-time signals and systems. Performance and stability criteria. Design approaches for digital control of analog plants. Sampling and signal quantization. Optimal and adaptive control. Microprocessor implementation of digital control algorithms.
Prerequisite: 500.
ECE 549 Information Theory and Coding. (3)
An introduction to information theory. Fundamental concepts such as entropy, mutual information, and the asymptotic equipartition property are introduced. Additional topics include data compression, communication over noisy channels, algorithmic information theory, and applications.
Prerequisite: 340 or equivalent.
ECE 561 Electrodynamics. (3)
Electromagnetic interaction with materials, solutions to the wave equation, plane wave propagation, wave reflection and transmission, vector potentials and radiation equations, dielectric slab waveguides, electromagnetic field theorems, Green’s Functions, scattering.
ECE 595 Special Topics

FPGA Design for Aerospace.  (1-4 to a maximum of 15, 1-4
to a maximum of 9)

 

Structures

ME 501

Advanced Mechanics of Materials. (3)
(Also offered as CE 501.) State of stress and strain at a point, stress-strain relationships; topics in beam theory such as unsymmetrical bending, curved beams and elastic
foundations; torsion of noncircular cross-sections, energy principles.
ME 504 Computational Mechanics. (3)
Weak formulations of governing equations in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics,and head conduction, Finite element equations in two and three-dimensions. Numerical algorithms
for static and time-dependent cases.
ME 506 Boundary Element Methods in Engineering. (3)
This course presents an introduction to the boundary element method with emphasis placed on concepts and fundamentals. Example applications will be taken from the fields
of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structural mechanics and acoustics.
ME 512 Introduction to Continuum Mechanics. (3)
Vector and tensor analysis, kinematics of continua, equations of motion, first and second laws of thermodynamics, constitutive equations for elastic solids and compressible
viscous fluids.
ME 540 Elasticity. (3)
Field theory of elasticity; Saint Venants problems; introduction to plane theory of elasticity.
ME 561  Fracture Mechanics (under special topics)
CE 502 Finite Element Methods in Solid Mechanics. (3)
Topics in finite element analysis with applications to problems in a two and three dimensional, solid continuum.
CE 503 Composite Materials. (3)
Mechanical behavior of constituent materials, characteristics of the lamina and laminates, composite action and mechanics, fracture and failure theories, hygrothermal effects, testing and inspection techniques, design of composite structures.

CE 508

Analysis and Design of Plates and Shells. (3)
Behavior, analysis and design of discrete and continuous plates and shells. Membrane and bending behavior using elasticity and plastic yield line theories. Numerical methods of solution.
CE 518 Theory of Structural Stability. (3)
General concept of stability of elastic and inelastic systems: columns, beam-columns, frames, plates and torsional stability. Equilibrium, energy and dynamic methods, nonlinear systems, nonconservative problems, discretized mathematical models.
CE 520 Introduction to Structural Dynamics. (3)
Basic theory of structural vibrations; structural response/ design to dynamic loads; approximate frequency methods for design; response spectra for design; viscous and tuned mass damping; lumped mass systems using matrix methods; periodic and transient response using normal mode method; continuous mass systems.