2008-2009 Catalog - United States Air Force Academy

directorate of education
The Directorate of Education is a staff agency that includes; the Center for Educational Excellence, the Technical Assistance
Center, the Air Force Institute for National Security Studies, and the Air Force Institute for Information Technology
Applications. The purpose of the directorate is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at the Academy. The Directorate
of Education is the primary academic support agency for faculty development, academic assessment, institutional and
programmatic accreditation, and educational technology integration.
office of the registrar
The Office of the Registrar staff administers the entire curriculum, from conducting registration, to certifying you’ve met all
degree and majors requirements, and coordinating the graduation ceremony.
student academic services
The Student Academic Services Center offers courses and individualized instruction designed to increase cadet academic
performance. If you want to improve your time management, general study skills, reading rate and comprehension, writing
skills, or need tutoring in a specific core course, the Student Academic Services Center staff can help. Information on graduate
scholarship opportunities is also available.
visual services
Supplemental instruction is available using satellite down link, videotape, and live transmission to classrooms and dormitories.
Also available are state-of-the-art interactive media for computer based instruction, video production support, digital graphic
and photographic products, and self-help video origination and editing. A lending facility provides notebook computers, linear/
digital projectors, course videotapes, and traditional projection/audio equipment.
classrooms and laboratories
Most classes are in small classrooms. However, some are in the larger, tiered lecture rooms to allow plenty of interactions
between students and instructors. There are also large lecture halls for assemblies. In the aeronautics laboratory, you’ll use
a subsonic continuous wind tunnel, a trisonic blow down tunnel, an F109 high-bypass turbofan engine, a J69 and a J85
operational turbojet engine, a rocket test cell, and internal combustion engines. The turbojet engines, which are flown in the T-
37 and T-38 trainer aircraft respectively, let you operate the actual engines flown in pilot training.
The Department of Engineering Mechanics’ Applied Mechanics Laboratory is one of the most modern and best-equipped
undergraduate labs in the country. It provides a wide array of tools and equipment for hands-on learning for class projects and
labs. Cadets are encouraged to learn how to use a variety of wood- and metal-working equipment such as a lathe, computer
controlled mill, welding equipment, material testing systems, and composite material fabrication tools. In addition, a separate
garage facility, complete with a full-scale chassis dynamometer, provides a unique opportunity for cadets to apply skills learned
in their courses; among many other projects, cadets design and fabricate an off-road vehicle and a formula car for national
intercollegiate design competitions.
Three astronautics laboratories contain items unique to an undergraduate school. Workstations with digital and analog
computers, facilities for small satellite design, fabrication, and testing, rocket design and build-up areas, and high fidelity orbital
analysis software support research and classroom activities. Several courses use the Engineering Division laboratory’s metal
and wood shops and electronic equipment.
The foreign language learning center includes workstations using interactive videodiscs and a sophisticated local-area network.
Research and teaching innovations place the Department of Foreign Languages among the national leaders in using leadingedge
technologies for foreign language instruction.
50 United States Air Force Academy Catalog