A team of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering third and fourth-year students has won first prize in the team presentation category at the prestigious AIAA Student Conference, held in Melbourne, Australia, on 25th and 26th November. Competing against 13 international entries in the team category, the students emerged in the first place with their exceptional work.

The team investigated the aerodynamics and structural dynamics of a small horizontal-axis wind turbine rotor using advanced research techniques, including computational fluid dynamics, the finite element method, and the blade element momentum method. They proposed an innovative design featuring a Gurney flap to enhance the rotor's aerodynamic performance. Impressively, most of the students began the project only this September, demonstrating outstanding dedication and determination to succeed.

As first-prize winners, the team is expected to receive an invitation to the AIAA International Student Conference, which will be held as part of the AIAA SciTech Forum next year.

Congratulations to the team members; Hardit Saini, Milcha Masresha, Andrews Agyei, Raima Rahman, Omar Abdi, Aamna Abbasi, and Imad Foughali, on this fantastic achievement.

This research and design activity is part of an ongoing British Council-SPARC project focused on developing small wind turbine energy solutions for small-scale end users, in collaboration with the academic partners VIT and IIT Madras, as well as the SME Deutsche WindGuard India. It is led by Dr Avital and co-led by Dr Vepa, Dr Cagney and Dr Chetehouna.