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Captain’s Message
The aerospace industry is among the fastest-growing industries worldwide. In 2025, the market size was estimated at 402.75 billion USD and is projected to double by 2034.
At Queen’s Aerospace Design Team (QADT), we are dedicated to pushing boundaries with the development of high performance & autonomous UAVs for national and international competitions in Canada, Europe, and the United States. With the continued growth in industry aerospace applications in recent years, QADT has seen an unparalleled expansion, and our dedicated team of more than 150 undergraduate students has not disappointed.
This year, the AEAC technical team developed 2 UAVs from the ground up to compete at the AEAC 2026 student competition hosted in Ottawa. Including a 3D printed airframe VTOL to map for urban fires, as well as a heavy-lift quadcopter designed to autonomously extinguish fires indoor and outdoor using a water gun. The AIAA technical team developed a fully carbon fiber fixed wing aircraft optimized for long range cargo flights and banner towing. While in parallel, the QADT research team wrote two research papers for submission to the IMAV conference paper call and the VFS student design competition. Respectively, these papers focused on the application of compliant airfoils on efficiency gains in flight and conversion of a tilt rotor aircraft to a hybrid electric engine to prove the feasibility of electrifying the aerospace industry.
QADT offers a unique opportunity for development and growth for students in any discipline, including gaining technical experience in Aeromechanics, Electrical, and Software, and the opportunity to conduct research in a variety of unique fields, as well as the chance to gain experience in business and management. QADT is looking to continue its rapid growth and expansion by taking on like-minded and motivated individuals to not just continue the development of advanced drone technology, but push the boundaries of what student teams are capable of.
We eagerly await your application.
‘Aviation is proof that given the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible.’
— Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI flying ace
 Erin Payne Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering ‘28 |  Purujit Kantiya Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering ‘28 |
Welcome to research at QADT! Here, we turn the most ambitious ideas into reality and provide you with the best research experience at the undergraduate level. Simulation is a brand-new branch of research focused on developing drone simulations to replicate real world tasks. We implement high level algorithms to coordinate drone movement and push the limit of what undergraduate teams are capable of.
In 2025, the simulation sub team researched and developed a simulation for the control of a drone swarm in completing tasks in a city environment. The project had two parts; the first part was the creation of hardware control programs for basic drone movements/tasks in C++ using ROS2. The second part required the development of an algorithm to coordinate drone movement around the city without breaking connection between individual drones all the while scanning the environment and conserving battery. The 25-26 simulation team was very successful and placed 2nd in the ICUAS student competition qualifier earning them the opportunity to showcase their work at the conference in Greece!
As part of the executive team, the Simulation Manager leads and oversees all Simulation sub-team operations. The Simulation Manager can expect to work closely with the Research Director.
The Simulation Manager can expect to gain skills in the areas of:
- Project Management & Professional Communication
- Programming in C++ and Python
- ROS (Robot Operating System)
- Algorithm design/implementation
Application & Interview Details
We do not look at your resume as a deciding factor. We weigh it the least compared to your written application and interview.
DEADLINE TO APPLY: July 11th, 2026 (11:59 PM EST)
Interviews will occur online after the deadline. We are happy to provide accommodation for these interviews, so please reach out to us and let us know how we can make the process more accessible for you!
Contact Information
Please email any questions or concerns to aero @engsoc.queensu.ca or text @queensaero on Instagram!