The level of aerospace and aviation is a manifestation of the comprehensive strength of a country. When all Chinese people are deeply encouraged and excited by the success of "Shenzhou VI", many students who are interested in the aerospace industry are also eager to learn about Tsinghua. The development of the University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In this issue of "Department Dean's Specialty", we invited Professor Fu Song, the deputy dean of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, to give an introduction on the relevant situation.

Tsinghua Aviation Academy develops with the development of the country

Reporter: Tsinghua's Department of Aeronautics was established in the 1930s. At that time, it was the earliest aviation department in China. In 1952, the department was adjusted and moved out of Tsinghua University. Tsinghua established the Department of Engineering Mechanics in 1958, and the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics was established in May 2004. . Could you please talk about the professional foundation and construction and development of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Tsinghua University.

Fu Song: The development of Tsinghua's aviation discipline has a long history. As early as the 1930s, Tsinghua University established the earliest aeronautical engineering department in China. At that time, the Department of Aeronautics had many of the most famous experts in the world. For example, Professor von Kamen, an aerodynamic expert from California Institute of Technology, taught at Tsinghua University, and Professor von Kamen was the tutor of Qian Xuesen, the father of China's aerospace industry. With such a starting point, Tsinghua's aviation discipline has developed relatively quickly, and it has cultivated a group of outstanding talents, which has made important contributions to the establishment of China's aviation discipline and the development of aviation science and technology.

During the adjustment of colleges and departments in the 1950s, the Department of Aeronautical Engineering moved out of Tsinghua University to participate in the establishment of Beijing Institute of Aeronautics in accordance with the unified arrangement of the country. In the late 1950s, in order to develop high-tech national defense represented by the "two bombs and one satellite", the school successively established the Engineering Mechanics and Mathematics Department and the Automatic Control Department to carry out related scientific research and personnel training. The Department of Engineering Mechanics has several major majors, such as solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and engineering thermophysics. After more than 40 years of development, these disciplines have become key disciplines in various fields and are in the evaluation of key disciplines by the Ministry of Education The rankings are all number one.

After the reform and opening up, the school set up an aerospace fund with the support of relevant departments to encourage teachers to conduct research in the aerospace field. Beginning in the 1990s, in the process of creating a world-class university, Tsinghua clearly put forward the goal of developing aerospace disciplines, and established an aerospace technology research center, which has achieved a number of valuable scientific research results. The "Small Satellite" and "Naxing-1" were successfully launched in 2000 and 2004 respectively. Tsinghua University established the Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics in May 2004, hoping to continue to contribute to the country's high-tech and high-tech in this field, and to cultivate cutting-edge talents for the country.

Reporter: You mentioned aviation and aerospace just now, so what is the difference between them?

Fu Song: Aviation in the traditional sense means flying in the air. Traditionally, as long as you leave the ground, it should be considered. However, after an aircraft appears, it is generally a space flight of 10,000 meters or 20,000 meters. Of course, spaceflight is about leaving the atmosphere, generally speaking at least about 100 kilometers away from the ground. Of course, with the development of science and technology, the difference between the concepts of air and sky in the scientific and technical sense is getting smaller and smaller, so now there is a new term called "air and sky vehicle", I think you will be exposed to more in the future.

Cultivate all-round development of aerospace talents

Reporter: Tsinghua has always been known around the world for its solid foundation, and the Aviation Academy is a typical discipline that requires a solid foundation. What does the Aviation Academy do in this regard?

Fu Song: Emphasizing a solid foundation, to this day, it is still a very important concept for running a school. After investigation, we learned from the school-running model of MIT, Stanford University and other internationally renowned universities, and established the aerospace school in a comprehensive university. The research field involves a wide range of aspects, such as aviation, aerospace, and propulsion. What are the benefits of running a school like this? The people trained in this way have a wider range of adaptability after employment, which is in line with the characteristics of the aerospace industry. It should be said that the aerospace field is all-encompassing, and all professional talents are needed. From this perspective, we are cultivating "wide-caliber, thick-founded" comprehensive talents.

From the perspective of school running methods, the Aviation Academy has a platform for basic courses in the school, and a large teaching platform built with the School of Mechanical Engineering. The Aviation Academy has also established a teaching platform itself, which gives us a good foundation for training. On this basis, our classmates have a relatively free range of choices and can choose their own directions according to their personal interests: for example, aircraft design, aerodynamics, structure, strength, etc. From this perspective, we can achieve a thick foundation, Wide-caliber, this is also the successful experience of some famous foreign schools.

Reporter: Tsinghua Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics has a strong faculty, which is known to everyone in the academic circle and the industry. For example, Academician Wang Yongzhi, the chief designer of the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft, is the first dean of the Academy of Aviation. Can you please ask me in this regard? Can you talk more specifically?

Fu Song: Yes, our dean, Academician Wang Yongzhi, is the commander-in-chief of China's manned spacecraft technology. He is very concerned about the curriculum construction of Tsinghua Aviation Academy and attaches great importance to arranging relevant experts to give lectures to the students of the Academy. The Academy of Aviation has a strong faculty. For example, in addition to Academician Wang Yongzhi, there are also Academician Huang Kezhi, Academician Du Qinghua, Academician Guo Zengyuan, and Academician Yang Wei. These academicians are all teachers who have been working in Tsinghua for a long time. In addition to academicians, we also have a strong team of young teachers, including five "Changjiang Distinguished Professors" from the Ministry of Education, and a group of "National Outstanding Youth Fund Winners". These are important guarantees for the sustainable development of Tsinghua Aviation Academy. .

Reporter: The aerospace industry is a business that requires real swordsmanship. It is very industry-oriented and practical. How does Tsinghua Aviation Academy ensure that students learn with real swordsmanship?

Fu Song: Tsinghua Aviation Academy has established a very close relationship with the industry. For example, shortly after the establishment of the Aviation Academy, we established a joint research center with Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute, allowing our students to participate in the institute. work. We contact the industry and recommend students to practice in units and departments such as Shenyang Aircraft Manufacturing Company, XAC, Air Force Armory, Liyang Engine Factory, etc. After the students go, they will really learn and exercise in practice. We also have close ties with foreign aerospace departments. For example, we have established the "GE-Tsinghua Propulsion and Power Technology Research Center" with GE Aero Engines in the United States. Inside the domestic and international first-class industry.

"Aerospace" is an industry-oriented and practical subject. During the student internship process, the Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics took the lead in establishing two practical education bases for undergraduates at Tsinghua University, making the students’ practical education move towards industry and reality. Knife and gun.

In terms of scientific research, Tsinghua Aviation Institute has established many research centers with some domestic and foreign scientific research units and companies, such as the "Key Laboratory of Destructive Mechanics" and "Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer Enhancement and Energy Conservation" of the Ministry of Education. There are four international joint research centers, such as "Tsinghua University-SMC Pneumatic Research Center" and "Tsinghua-IHI Heavy Industry Technology Research Center", which ensure that Tsinghua Aviation Institute has an important technical force in scientific research and cooperates with foreign countries. , At the same time, it is also moving towards the international first-class.

Reporter: As far as I know, there are many new research directions in the field of international aerospace and aviation. How is Tsinghua Aerospace Research Institute progressing in this regard?

Fu Song: We closely follow the latest development direction of international aerospace and aviation. Of course, we also have many specialties. For example, it was just mentioned that Tsinghua University first carried out research on small satellites in domestic universities a few years ago. We are the first university in China to launch small satellites, and Naxing is another big improvement. In the field of aviation, Tsinghua students have actively carried out scientific research work such as small airplanes and drones, and have even been doing such work in their graduation projects and graduation thesis. New research directions, such as near-space, superb, and large aircraft, have been included in China's mid- and long-term development plan. Teachers and students of the Academy of Aviation are also actively participating.

Aerospace is an industry that can be struggled and harvested for a lifetime

Reporter: How has the graduate distribution of Tsinghua Aviation Institute graduated in recent years been?

Fu Song: China's aerospace industry has developed very fast in recent years. How fast is it? From the examinee's point of view, there is no need to worry about no work or nothing to do in the future. Aviation Academy may be special in Tsinghua, and it may also be special in the whole country. Half of our students are "booked" as soon as they come in. We recruit four classes a year, and the employment direction of two classes has been determined as soon as we enter the school: one is the aerospace class, which is "booked" by the aerospace department; the other is the national defense class, which is "booked" by the military.

People may not know a lot about aerospace in the past. In fact, if you work in the aerospace sector in the past two years, you will feel that the competition is fierce. These departments need a large number of talents, but they also have high requirements for the quality of the personnel. Young people want to display their talents, and the aerospace industry provides a broad space for everyone to display their talents.

In addition to some departments in the aerospace field, there is another very important field in the employment of students of Tsinghua Aviation Academy. It is also an field that has developed rapidly in our country in recent years, namely, navigation. China is now a major shipbuilding country in the world. In recent years, the maritime industry has a strong demand for talents. Judging from the employment situation of students in the past two years, we are very happy to see that many students have entered the maritime industry, so our employment The field can be said to be three aviation, namely "aviation", "aerospace" and "navigation". In my opinion, choosing aerospace is actually choosing an industry that can be struggled and harvested for a lifetime. (Edited by Xiang Nan)