The Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory presented the results of its research for NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 program during the 2026 AIAA AVIATION Forum.

Senior Research Engineer Dr. Jai Ahuja participated in the “Transforming Aviation for 2050: NASA AACES 2050 Results and Impact” panel session, which featured results from the five AACES contractors — Boeing/Aurora, Electra, Georgia Tech’s ASDL, JetZero, and Pratt & Whitney. He highlighted the results of research efforts conducted by the ASDL team of 10 Research Engineers and 12 graduate students over the last 18 months. This included the Athena aircraft concept, a longitudinally extended blended wing body designed for 150–178 passengers on missions up to 3,500 nautical miles, fueled by liquefied natural gas. As part of its research for AACES, the ASDL team evaluated SAF, hydrogen, and LNG across aircraft performance, regulation, infrastructure, and resource availability.

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