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The Ann and H.J Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences is a leading research and teaching institution in America and the world, and your individual and business support provides scholarships to deserving students, expands teaching and laboratory facilities, and provides vital equipment.

Your investment in the development of tomorrow’s engineering workforce and the emergence of new technologies strengthens the industry, education, and the future of aerospace.

Smead Aerospace has numerous meaningful opportunities for partnering with our department that align with your individual or organizational goals and values in aircraft and spacecraft systems, earth and space sciences, and aerospace education.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ the many ways you can make a difference by volunteering your expertise or providing financial support through the funds below.

Aerospace Excellence Fund

Join us in building on a rich tradition of excellence in aerospace research, education, and technological development. Our department is uniquely characterized by a blend of aeronautics, astronautics, and science applications. Your gift will allow us to invest in exciting new research initiatives in areas like small satellite design, unmanned aircraft systems, sensors, and aerospace technologies, through the purchase of new equipment, facility renovations, and support for faculty and technical staff.

Graduate Assistantships

Smead Aerospace has three named assistantships for PhD students. Established in 2023, these help attract top aerospace PhD candidates to CU Boulder by offering first-year financial support. These assistantships are named in honor of individual alumni and faculty and provide full funding for tuition, benefits, and salary to honorees for two semesters.

Find out more about each of these funds

Student Projects Fund

Undergraduates design projects through hands-on experiential learning in team settings, culminating in a specific project their senior year, while graduate students cultivate entrepreneurship and innovation through projects that may span several years. This fund pays for materials and the expertise of engineers and other staff to assist students in designing, building, and testing their aerospace concepts, and also supports student travel to aerospace competitions and conferences.

Graduate Fellowship Fund

Graduate students are critical to our program in that they assist with educating undergraduate students and they also bolster the quality research that comes out of our department. With competition among universities being so tight, fellowships are one way for us to compete in attracting top talent to CU-Boulder to work with our world-renowned faculty and further our knowledge in the many fields of research in the department. The entire amount of your gift will go to attract, support, and retain talented graduate students.

In addition, graduate fellowship endowments allow the department a steady source of support to draw on year after year for recruitment and support of graduate students. To discover how to permanently impart your name or to honor another who has impacted your life through a graduate fellowship, please contact the Engineering Development Team, at (303) 492-7899 or engineering@colorado.edu.

Aerospace EndowmentÌý

Give to the general aerospace endowment or establish an endowment in your name (or in honor of another). The interest earned over the years will continually gift the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department, and the minimum to establish a named endowment is $25,000.ÌýContact the Engineering Development Team, at (303) 492-7899 or engineering@colorado.edu to discuss how you might make a major impact through the gift of endowed funds.