A team of researchers from New Mexico State University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) has received national recognition for their innovative work in hypersonic flight research, earning the 2025 AIAA Thermophysics Best Paper Award at the annual AIAA SciTech Forum.
Their award-winning paper, “Analysis of Fast Thin-Film Temperature Gauges for Hypersonic Environments” (AIAA 2025-2843), explores advanced temperature sensing technology designed to operate in the extreme conditions found in hypersonic flight — vehicles that travel at speeds of Mach 5 and beyond. As the demand for high-speed flight continues to grow across aerospace, defense, and space exploration industries, research like this plays a critical role in advancing instrumentation for ground and flight tests.
The paper was selected by the AIAA Thermophysics Technical Committee as the best among all submissions in the thermophysics category, a major distinction at one of the world’s largest gatherings of aerospace researchers and engineers.
The authors — Sunyoung Lee, Luke Vergeer, Julian Marin, Andreas Gross, Fangjun Shu, and Jay Frankel — are all affiliated with NMSU. Their work stood out for its technical depth, relevance to hypersonic ground and flight test needs, and potential to solve real-world aerospace challenges.
As part of the award, the paper will receive a permanent “Best Paper” designation in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central (ARC) digital library — ensuring lasting visibility among scientists, engineers, and industry leaders worldwide.
This national recognition reflects the MAE department’s growing impact in the field of hypersonic flight systems, as well as its commitment to supporting student-driven research at the highest levels.
The authors have been invited to accept their Certificate of Merit at the AIAA Aviation/ASCEND Co-located Event on July 22, 2025, where top aerospace innovators will gather to celebrate this year’s most influential technical contributions.
