UW aerospace chair says students and faculty will support state’s space push

Mehran Eswai, introduced as chair of the William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington, described UW’s role in research and education for the new space economy. He listed research areas including electric propulsion, on-orbit manufacturing, and guidance, navigation and control.

Eswai said UW students are "eager" and want to apply "AI machine learning to space," and he said the department will create a certificate program around space systems to help prepare students for industry roles. He described partnerships between faculty, students and companies and said the state’s research institutions are an asset for retaining talent.

Eswai noted his own transition from NASA and described a long tradition of relevant coursework at UW that the new program will build on.