Kevin Tomasetti

Dr. Guenzel
ENC1102-15
April 7, 2015
Tomasetti 1
Research Dossier: Aerospace Engineering Project
Dossier Introduction
Aerospace Engineering has been one of the fields used to describe cutting edge technology
since Orville and Wilbur Wright first took to the skies in 1903. At that time aeronautics were more of a
reality than aerospace but with this breakthrough the hopes were high and the future was bright for the
field of aeronautics which would soon develop a similar field known as aerospace engineering. Many
other concepts of air flight were passed around trying to mimic what the Wright brothers had
accomplished. Some were successful some were not so lucky, but the two key factors behind each and
every one of these prototypes were funding, and dedication to the exploration of the unknown. Without
either of these we may have eventually stumbled upon the key to flight much like Issac Newton had his
epiphany due to an apple falling from a tree, but this is extremely unlikely. Fortunately we have both.
Actually, we have more than that, we have not only the current aerospace engineers, but we have a slew
of upcoming engineers desperate to get into the field. For many internships are the key to getting your
foot in the door in the field of engineering. But is it worth it? Is focusing so much on getting an
internship the right way to go? Or should students focus on their grades, doing well in school, and
learning the most they can now so that they are ready for the workforce. One major issue that we are
presented with in todays engineering field is funding. Luckily we have plenty of people eager to
discover the unknown, but unfortunately the expenses of exploration of extraterrestrial planets, solar
systems, manned space stations, satellite deployment and recovery, just to name a few, are known to be
quite expensive. Are the engineering firms going to have the money to hire interns when it the time
comes to apply?
Continually, what does the future of the future look like? It looks like the youth of the world,
but how do they go from learning the alphabet to designing spacecraft to travel through wormholes?
There is of course getting good grades in school, but the key to really accelerating a students
knowledge and skill in any field of work is an internship. Internships give students hands on training
with what they are learning about in school. Instead of theoretically calculating the trajectory of a
missile launch with given constants and variables for a lab assignment, the students can work side by
side workers from Space-X, NASA, or other large firms and get the full experience of what their work
is doing and how it is put into practicality all while getting the best education there could possibly be.

Kevin Tomasetti
Dr. Guenzel
ENC1102-15
April 7, 2015
Tomasetti 2
Is it worth it to get an internship? Should students focus on school rather than an internship? Are
companies going to be in the financial position to hire interns by the time perspective college students
are ready? These are the talking points that will be addressed in the upcoming research paper.

Research Map
Research Question/ Thesis

What is the history of aerospace engineering?

What are the current projects in aerospace engineering?

What does the future look like or aerospace engineering?

How does funding effect the aerospace engineering field?

How do you become part of this field?

Narrative
Here I will fill in some text with history, useful information, statistics, and examples to keep the reader
interested and entertained throughout the research paper.
Interviews/Internet/Library
For this research project I will be conducting multiple interviews, researching text from the UCF
library, as well as using multiple internet articles as sources for supporting evidence.
Keywords
Funding
Space Exploration
Aerospace
Aeronautical
Internship
Future
Constraints
Training
Timetable
03/24/15

Gather researched articles and highlight information to use in paper

Kevin Tomasetti
Dr. Guenzel
ENC1102-15
April 7, 2015
Tomasetti 3
03/26/15

Come up with thesis statement

03/29/15

Interview IEEE as well as Matthew Tomasetti

03/30/15

Interview RET. Col. Thomas Tomasetti

03/31/15

Begin writing narrative integrating all sources into my writing

04/04/15

Finish research paper

04/09/15

First workshop draft Review

04/12/15
04/14/15

Make revisions
Second Draft workshop

04/16/15

Make Revisions

04/20/15

Third Draft Workshop

04/21/15

Peer Review Workshop draft 3

04/23/15

Final Draft argumentative Research Paper Turn in

Annotated Bibliography

"AEROSPACE ENGINEERING STUDENTS DESIGN MISSION ATHENA, WIN FIRST

PLACE." States News Service 30 Aug. 2010. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA236505474&v=2.1&u=orla57816&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
This article is a brief description of an amazing feat that a team from the Virginia Tech's Close Object
Landing by Earth Research Team or COLBERT. The team entered a competition to simulate an asteroid
landing, simulated life on the asteroid, as well as a return plan for humans to research asteroids. The
article describes the major points that the team made which distinguished it from the others. The article
covers the reasoning behind the teams choices of transportation, fuel type, return plan, asteroid
attachment plan, and more. This is a really well thought out project and it is certainly award worthy.
There is not much information about the author but the writing is very clear and organized very well.
The article itself on the other hand is very bias in favor of the Virginia team. No other teams were
mentioned and the article strictly focuses on COLBERT's accomplishments.
"Aerospace engineer to speak about intern experience." UWIRE Text 12 Sept. 2013: 1. Academic
OneFile. Web. 24
Feb. 2015. https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?
auth=shibb&url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA342690912&v=2.1&u=orla57816&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
This article is an inspiration to aspiring aerospace engineers. The article begins by telling us about Juan
Carlos Lopez who came to the U.S. From Chihuahua, Mexico to finish high school and begin his
college career. The article informs us that he had an internship at NASA and the article bring in some

Kevin Tomasetti
Dr. Guenzel
ENC1102-15
April 7, 2015
Tomasetti 4
uplifting and inspirational quotes from Lopez's speech. Some of the best quotes were, What I love the
most about aerospace engineering is that whatever projects or developments we come up with for
space, we can utilize here at home along with We will always need aerospace engineering. It's a
growing industry, and the opportunities are plentiful. Lopez emphasizes the importance of
interpersonal skills. He says that getting involved with school programs or internships are key to
developing these skills by working together on a team to accomplish a goal which is what employers
want to see. There is little information given on the author but they seem like they know of Juan Lopez
very well and attended his speech on September 12th as given in the article. The article itself did seem a
bit bias in the sense that an aerospace engineer is making all of these claim about aerospace
engineering with little hard proof.
Altair Engineering Shows Significant Growth in the Global Aerospace Market. (2010, October 20). PR
Newswire.
Retrieved fromhttps://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?
auth=shibb&url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? id=GALE
%7CA239910425&v=2.1&u=orla57816&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
This article describes the main essentials for what commercial and military aerospace engineering is
composed of. It goes about describing the latest trends in recent air shows that display the newest of
aviation technologies. The article refers to companies like, Airbus, MT Aerospace, AugustaWestland,
EADS, and Eurocopter. The article emphasizes the need for increased passenger load for commercial
airlines, increased payload capacity for military air transportation, and for both fields range is a primary
objective across all planes of aerospace engineering. I feel this author did a very good job of providing
clear and organized information in a lexis that was easily understandable even to someone who may not
be familiar with all of the terminology of the field. The article was informative on big companies in the
field as well as providing information relative to the goals of todays aerospace engineering and what
they are trying to accomplish.
Binder, J. D. (1994, April). A brief history of computers in aerospace.Aerospace America, 32(4), 19+.
Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?
auth=shibb&url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA15421067&v=2.1&u=orla57816&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
This article is very brief but very informative. The article talks about how both the computer industries
and the advancement of aerospace engineering are correlated. The article talks about how computers
are used very intensively for structural design, manufacturing, and administrative work which all lead
to the productivity of the aerospace industry. Additionally the article informs us that the aerospace
industry funds research and development for the microelectronics industry. The author is very
straightforward and punctual. His credentials seem reliable and support his statements. The article
sticks to factual statements but is slightly bias towards the aerospace industry as a whole as that is the
main focus of the article and does not incorporate any other perspectives.
Cameron, Doug. "Pentagon launches contest for new long-range bomber."Wall Street Journal Eastern
Edition 11 July 2014: B4(NA). Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Feb.

Kevin Tomasetti
Dr. Guenzel
ENC1102-15
April 7, 2015
Tomasetti 5
2015.ttps://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA374583770&v=2.1&u=orla57816&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
This article is a prime example of aerospace engineering as an expanding and competitive field. The
pentagon announced a contest for the newest long-range bomber. The contest is expected to be
between Northrop Grumman Corp., Boeing Co, and Lockheed martin Corp. The article states that the
contract is valued up to $80 billion. The author has great credentials relative to the field writing factual
current event articles. The articles itself does not show any bias.

McGee,Oliver. "Landing a Job in Engineering by Expert Oliver McGee,

(http://www.OliverMcGee.org)." PR Newswire 17 May 2013. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Feb.
2015.https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/loginauth=shibb&url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA330158062&v=2.1&u=orla57816&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w
This article focuses on a more broad subject, that is, engineering as a whole. The article says that
aerospace engineering is growing at a below average rate coming in a just 5%. The article continues to
talk about other fields of engineering such as environmental engineering which is one of the fastest
growing fields of engineering there is. The best part about it is that this specific field is attracting many
women and minorities. This creates a well diversified and strong workforce for when natural disasters
occur there will not be a lack of environmental engineers. Another field mentioned was bio and
chemical engineers which are useful in counter terrorism with chemical warfare and weapons of mass
destruction. The engineering workforce looks strong unfortunately aerospace engineering seems to be
on the back burners. The author is very credible having 3 different engineering degrees from very
distinguished universities as well as a teacher, administrator, and a government adviser. The article
itself was short but gives good hope for the field of engineering as a whole.
Tomasetti, Thomas, Col. "Aeronautical Engineering." Personal interview
When did you first start working as an aerospace engineer and at what company?
During your time as an aeronautical engineer what were some of your biggest struggles?
What were some of your most memorable moments as an aeronautical engineer?
How have you seen the aeronautical engineering or just engineering as a whole change throughout the
years?
Do you think aerospace/aeronautical engineering is going in a positive direction?
What do you think are the biggest constraints when it comes to engineering?

Kevin Tomasetti
Dr. Guenzel
ENC1102-15
April 7, 2015
Tomasetti 6
Thomas Tomasetti is a retired Air Force Colonel who worked for over 30 years at the Lockheed
Martin Corporation as an aerospace engineer. His valuable knowledge and practice of the field is
a wealth of information on the industry. His views on the predetermined questions will provide a
different view on the field of aerospace engineering.
Tomasetti, Matthew. Internship Qualifications. Personal Interview
What is your major?
How many years have you been perusing this major?
When did you first apply for an internship?
How many different companies did you apply to?
What were your credentials?
What did you do to improve your chances and make yourself stand out?
How long did it take you to get an internship?
What is a normal day for you like?
What do you do at your internship?
Matthew Tomasetti is a recent hire of the Lockheed Martin Corporation as an intern. His
knowledge of the internship application process as well as the actual field work that he is doing as
an intern will provide a great deal of information to be used in this research paper.

"What Will You Do Regarding The Following Issues Facing The Aerospace
Sector?." Aerospace America (2008): 6-10. Applied Science & Technology
Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 2 Mar. 2015. https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?
auth=shibb&url=http://search.ebs
cohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asf&AN=501328822&ke269036site=ehost-live

Sacchi, Claudio, Abbas Jamalipour, and Marina Ruggieri. "Aerospace

Communications And Networking In The Next Two Decades: Current Trends
And Future Perspectives [Scanning The Issue]." Proceedings Of The IEEE
99.11 (2011): 1835-1839. Applied Science & Technology Full Text (H.W.
Wilson). Web. 2 Mar. 2015. https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url=http://search.ebs
cohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asf&AN=525584526&site=ehost-live