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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 through our three sub-teams: Enhancement , VTOL Prototyping and Simulation.
Enhancement: Enhancement on QADT is all about taking existing technology to the next level. We challenge the standard and research new methodology through optimization and innovation!
VTOL Prototyping: VTOL Prototyping is focused on Vertical Take-Off and Landing drone design. Every year the team is challenged with new design requirements to implement in student competitions for vertical flight technology. We push the limits of VTOL engineering and applications!
Simulation: 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 2024, the Research Team wrote two papers focused on drone optimization. The Enhancement sub-team focused on analyzing DBD plasma actuators to re-attach airflow separation, which they presented at the IMAV conference in Mexico this past fall and the Prototyping sub-team designed a hydrogen fuel-cell powered aircraft.
Building off their strong foundational work, this year's research teams are also working towards two research papers. The enhancement team is researching efficiency gains through the use of compliant airfoils, and the prototyping team is designing a hybrid electric propulsion system conversion for a tilt rotor aircraft. Simulation, a brand-new sub-team of the research branch, has seen great success this year in their development of a drone swarm simulation that was ranked second in the ICUAS simulation challenge.
QADT aims to expand the Research Branch to standardize a design schedule, improve project management, and implement professional development training for conference preparation and presentation.
As part of the executive team, the Director of Research will be expected to fulfill the following responsibilities:
- Technical Advisory: Advise sub team managers on research topic selection, scope, feasibility and general technical guidance including but not limited to subject theory, simulation software and report writing. This will also include research report breakdown, formatting, and writing.
- Communication: Maintain communication with conference organizers, faculty advisors, research managers and co-captains. Reach out to faculty advisors and conference organizers to check in and ask questions regarding research topics.
- Scheduling: Track and maintain a schedule of important deadlines including submission dates and internal deadlines. As director, you must enforce this schedule so that the research branch stays on track to meet goals set at the start of the year.
- Resources and Logistics: Organize required resources, maintain research budget and plan travel logistics for conferences. This will include booking travel tickets, hotels and accommodations and filling out OCASP and REASE forms.
This list is not exhaustive; however, it should provide a general understanding of the Research Director's position.
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: June 27th, 2026 (11:59 PM EST)
Interviews will occur online or in-person 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!