Capstone team battles peers in national hypersonics competition

A competitive design challenge turned into a high-stakes senior project for one interdisciplinary capstone team building a hypersonic flight vehicle. 

Team 26053 competed in the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics undergraduate competition (UCAH), where engineering students design a hypersonic flight vehicle capable of traveling between Mach 5 and Mach 8 – five to eight times the speed of sound – while meeting strict performance and maneuverability requirements. What started as a summer opportunity became a fast-paced project supported by defense company Lockheed Martin and university researchers.

“This was a little different than the average senior capstone project,” said Finn Gerber, systems engineering student and team lead. “From around 80 applicants, only 16 students were selected across two teams. Being chosen and then leading one of those teams made it a unique and rewarding opportunity.”

Starting with a blank slate, the team developed multiple design concepts before narrowing its focus. Their final concept – a guided hypersonic projectile – drew on extensive trajectory modeling, manufacturability analysis and real-world deployment considerations.

The team advanced to the semifinal round of the national competition, presenting their design virtually to subject matter experts and government stakeholders. Though they did not advance to the final phase, the project continued.

The team shifted to hands-on testing, preparing their design for validation in the aerospace and mechanical engineering building’s hypersonic wind tunnels.

“We are running simulations to predict performance, then comparing that to what we measured in the wind tunnels,” Gerber said. 

Working alongside AME faculty and industry mentors, the team is now collecting data on lift, drag, heat flux and other key performance metrics – gaining exposure to advanced testing facilities and connecting theory with real-world results.

Faculty adviser and AME associate professor Alex Craig said the team’s ability to take on such a complex challenge stood out.

“They started from nothing and built a complete design, from the vehicle itself to how it would actually be used in the field,” Craig said. “It’s been very impressive, not just technically, but how they’ve worked together as a team.”

Teamwork defined the project’s success. With eight students across engineering disciplines, the group operates more like an industry team than a typical classroom project, Craig said. 

“It’s not one person leading and everyone else following,” Gerber said. “Everyone brings something different, and we’re constantly learning from each other.”

Industry sponsors echoed that sentiment. Lockheed Martin Fellows Mike Henson and John Rhoads said the students’ energy and fresh perspective generated updated ideas.

“They aren’t constrained by how things have always been done,” Henson said. “That leads to innovation.”

Rhoads added the experience mirrors the realities of professional engineering.

“They’ve had to take a concept from an idea to a defensible design under real deadlines,” he said. “That’s exactly the kind of experience that sets them apart.”

Beyond technical skills, the project stressed communication, adaptability and confidence – qualities students will carry into their careers.

“They now have the ability to walk into an interview and clearly explain how they solved a complex, open-ended problem,” Craig said. “That’s huge.”

For Gerber, the biggest takeaway goes beyond the design itself.

“If you have a team that’s passionate and excited about what they’re doing, that’s what drives success,” he said. “That’s what I’ll carry forward.”

With plans to enter the aerospace industry after graduation, Gerber said the capstone experience has already shaped his future.

“This is exactly the kind of work I want to be doing,” he said. “And now I’ve had the chance to do it.”

Watch interdisciplinary capstone teams showcase their work at the Craig M. Berge Design Day on May 4.