University of Michigan Aerospace

The Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) is one of the nation's premier aerospace research programs, consistently ranked among the top 10 nationally, with approximately 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students conducting research across hypersonics, space systems, autonomous vehicles, electric propulsion, structural mechanics, and atmospheric science.

Michigan Aerospace's most distinctive research identity is in electric propulsion: the PEPL (Plasma Science and Propulsion Laboratory) led by Professor Alec Gallimore (also VP for Research) is among the world's most productive Hall-effect thruster research groups, with patents and alumni at Aerojet Rocketdyne, NASA Glenn, NASA JPL, and commercial thruster startups including Exotrail and Starfish Space. Michigan researchers developed key Hall thruster diagnostics and plume modeling tools adopted across the industry.

In space systems, Michigan operates the Michigan Exploration Laboratory (MXL), which has built and launched CubeSats including the INSPIRE (Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder in Relevant Environment) mission — the first university CubeSat released into interplanetary space — and the MCubed-2 and CADRE missions for NASA JPL. Michigan's close proximity to Ann Arbor-Detroit automotive engineering culture creates unusual depth in autonomous systems research applicable to spacecraft autonomy and robotic vehicles.

Notable Michigan Aerospace alumni include senior engineers at SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, and NASA leadership. The department's annual Space@Michigan alumni gathering brings back hundreds of industry professionals each year, reinforcing a strong network. Michigan also operates the largest University of Michigan-linked plasma wind tunnel complex for hypersonic aerothermodynamics research under Air Force and DARPA contracts.