English 202C: Technical Writing

Internet Resource Guide for

Aerospace Engineering Majors

Wonsik Nam
2/12/2015

Table of Contents
Page Number
1

I.

Information about the Guide

a. Contents/scope
. 3
b. Audience/purpose
3
c. Guide
assumptions
. 3
d. Guide
organization
. 3
e. Guide
tips

II.

4
Aerospace Organization Web Sites
a. The American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. 5
b. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.. 7
c. National Research Council

III.

Canada 8
Aerospace Engineering Journals and Databases
a. Proquest Aerospace Engineering database..
.. 10
b. Journal of Reusable Launch Vehicles..

IV.
V.

. 12
Aerospace Engineering Job
Resources 13
Government Publications and Statistics
a. Catalog of U.S. Government Publications...
. 14
b. Statistical Abstract of the United States.
.. 15

Contents/Scope
This guide is a compilation of invaluable resources pertaining to Aerospace
Engineering majors. The guide contains an Aerospace Organization section, an
Aerospace Engineering journal and database section, an Aerospace Engineering Job
resources section and a government publications and statistics section. Students
can use the Aerospace Organization section to find out more about what the big
Aerospace organization do these days. For the journals and database section, the
students can use the databases and journals to research any concepts or notes
accomplished by other people for help with designs or inspections regarding a
certain projectwhich essentially help with real life applications. The Aerospace
Engineering job resources section provides the reader with a list of jobs from all
sorts of companies, ranging from small companies to big companies. Lastly, the
government publications and statistics section provides Aerospace Engineers to
have a searching tool for technical documents in the government database. All of
the resources feature technical databases, scholarly journals, government
resources, Web sites pertaining to jobs, and resource directories.
Audience/Purpose
This Aerospace Engineering guide was created specifically for junior or senior
undergraduate students attending the Pennsylvania State University. These
students can utilize these resources, mostly for the ability to access specific
technical information. However, for non-Aerospace Engineering students, or even
for underclass Aerospace Engineering students, this guide may be difficult to
understand, and be perhaps useless to those students. The technical information
provided in this guide may be beneficial in answering certain questions or issues
that Aerospace Engineering students might have. Most Aerospace Engineers will
know how to utilize this guide and find the guide practical because certain projects,
labs and plans for post-graduation necessitate the use of these featured resources.
Assumptions
This guide was created under the assumption that the reader has a fundamental
understanding regarding the field of Aerospace Engineering. Without the proper
fundamentals, the reader would not know how to utilize the technical resources in
this guide. Thus, the reader should be at least a junior or senior student in order to
fully understand a guide that is essentially profound in its given information. Most
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importantly, this guide was created under the assumption that the reader has a
general idea of what profession to pursue inside the field of Aerospace Engineering
after graduation.
Furthermore, this guide was also created under the assumption that the reader has
a fundamental understanding of how the Internet operates. The reader should have
a basic skill set that is enough to navigate throughout a webpage in order to search
certain information pertaining to the readers necessity. Without this skill set, the
reader would not be able to find the technical information needed. Lastly, the reader
should be able to access Penn State online databases that pertain to the online
journals and databases explained in this guide.

Organization of Information
This guide provides eight different technical resources which include the following:
an electronic index, a professional journal, a government-related report, a reference
tool, and four online Web sites relevant to the field of Aerospace Engineering.
Towards the beginning of the guide, there is a table of contents section, which
navigates the necessary information needed for the reader. This guide has four
main sections that were mentioned in the contents/scope category. The job
resources and Aerospace organizations sections correlate to students who are trying
to research certain jobs they are interested in, while the publications and database
sections correlate to students who are trying to research practical information that
is relatable to the labs or projects they are working on. Lastly, the guide provides a
URL link, reasons to utilize the Web site, a description of the Web site and tips on
how to utilize the online Web site.
User Tips
The reader should first utilize the table of contents and page numbers to quickly
find the necessary technical resource. After the reader glances at the table of
contents to check where the necessary technical resource is, the reader should then
read about what the abstracts say. The abstracts highlight what the technical
resources contain, which allows the reader to decide whether or not to actually use
the technical resource. Finally, after realizing that the technical resource is
necessary to the reader, there are tips provided in each abstract that will help the
reader conveniently navigate through the technical resource.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

News Services

Location
URL: https://www.aiaa.org/default.aspx

Reason to use this News Service

Any Aerospace Engineer can access the current news regarding Aerospace
Engineering.
Also, Aerospace Engineers can search up publications and other technical
documents in the database.
There is a discussion forum available under Aerospace America. The reader
can search up any question that has been potentially asked already, thus
potentially getting an answer out of the discussion forums.
There is also an Issues and Advocacy section, where the Aerospace
Engineers can read about the current issues involved in the world of
Aerospace Engineering.

Description
The AIAA is the leading aerospace publisher, as the organization earned its
international reputation in having cutting-edge documents of all the aerospace
technical documents. This organization started when the American Rocket Society
and the Institute of Aerospace Science merged back in 1963. The home page
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contains multiple sections for the reader to look at. First, there is an events section
that pertains to all the upcoming events pertaining to the AIAA Foundation. Also,
there is a publications section, which consists of journals and e-books available to
the public. Next to the publications section, there is an issues and advocacy
section that pertains to all the current issues ranging from Aeronautics to Space.
The other sections included in the home page are what the AIAA Foundation does as
a non-profit, tax-exempt educational organization, such as supporting educators at
both the university level and K-12 with scholarships. In addition, the reader could
sign up for a membership in order to be updated on the current news regarding
Aerospace Engineering.
Tips

At the top of the home page, there is a search engine tool. If you feel like the
search is too broad, there is an advanced search tool next to the basic search
tool. The advanced search tool shows options such as with all of the words,
or without the word, where you essentially fill out the box accordingly.
Also, next to the search box tool, there is a scroll down that reads site. You
can change to other options in the drop tool, such as documents, HTML
and other kinds of technical documents.
At the top of the home page, each available tap drops down to subsections,
where you can find the subject that you can read into.
If you want to connect with the AIAA through social media, there are options
available at the bottom right side of the home page. You can connect with
them through Facebook, Twitter and many other social media.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Government Organization Web Site

Location
URL: http://www.nasa.gov/

Reasons to use this Web Site

For those interested in the space industry, this Web site shows all the
different positions available at NASA, and explains what all the specific fields
are for.
Aerospace Engineers can study about the certain projects the organization is
currently working on and what they have worked on in the past. This may
help when working on future projects.
The reader can research the technical documents available in the NASA
database.

Description
This is a home page for NASA, an organization funded by the government of the
United States. Established in 1958, NASA conducts work focuses on four main
principles: Aeronautics, Human Exploration and Operations, Science and Space
Technology. Towards the bottom of the home page, there is a NASA directories
section that has links to all four principles. In addition, the home page also provides
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all the different search options for the reader to pick at the top of the page. The
Web site provides information for the public, educators, students and media all in
four different sections. Towards the very top of the Web site, there is information
pertaining to news, missions, multimedia, media connections and what NASA is
about. Under that section, there also is a search box tool. By typing in the keywords
to the search box tool, this helps the user search what is needed through the NASA
database.

Tips

At the top of the home page, there is a search engine tool. If you feel like the
search is too broad, there is an advanced search tool next to the basic search
tool. The advanced search tool shows options such as All of these words, or
None of these words, where you essentially fill out the box accordingly.
When searching for a particular subject, there is a list of what kinds of
document you want to look for towards the left of the Web Page. You can
choose the data of the technical documents as well as look at any images,
videos or podcasts available pertaining to the subject.
At the top of the home page, each available tap drops down to subsections,
where you can find the subject that you can read into.
Right above the NASA directories section, there is a section pertaining to the
careers available at NASA. The reader is given the option to look for jobs,
internships or co-ops.

National Research Council Canada (NRC)

Government Web Site

Location
URL: http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/index.html

Reasons to use this Web Site

Although this organization ranges from a broader aspect of engineering as a

whole, the organization certainly conducts a lot of research into Aerospace
engineering.
The reader can research the technical documents available in the NRC database.
Aerospace Engineers can study about the certain projects the organization is
currently working on and what they have worked on in the past. This may
help when working on future projects.
The Web site also provides Aerospace Engineers with a list of jobs that the
reader might be interested in specializing in.

Description
This is a home page for the National Research Council of Canada. The main goal for
this company is to conduct premier research in all fields of engineering. The
organization basically offers engineering solutions to all kinds of engineering
problems all over the world. On the home page, the reader would be able to see
that there is a numbered section and a providing customized solutions section.
These sections emphasize the different projects the organization has gone through.
To begin with, by clicking on the Working with NRC section, the Web Page talks
about the benefits of working with the NRC as well as sub-links pertaining to those
benefits, explaining how each part is beneficial. Towards the right side of that Web
Page, there is an Aerospace contact that has the telephone number and the e-mail
addresswhich is a contact needed for asking the exact projects available that
pertain to Aerospace. On the home page, the organization provides the reader with
the latest NRC headlines as well as popular links to information about the
organization.

Tips

Towards the top right corner, there is a picture of a search tool. By typing in
the keywords, the database will search technical documents pertaining to the
keywords. If the results turned out to be too broad, there is also an advanced
search option towards the right side of the Web Page. The advanced search
tool shows options such as All of these words, or None of these words,
where you essentially fill out the box accordingly. Towards the bottom, there
are also options for publication date, which would help the narrow the search
even more.
If you want to connect with the NRC through social media, there are options
available at the bottom right side of the home page. You can connect with
them through Facebook, Twitter and many other social media.
By clicking on the job opportunities at NRC link on the home page, and then
clicking on jobs available now, there should be four sections listed. Choose
one section that would help you be efficient in finding the job you are
interested in.

Proquest Aerospace Engineering Database

Index to Periodical Literature

Location
URL: http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/aerospace/advanced?
accountid=13158

Reasons to use this database

If an Aerospace Engineer needs a technical document for a particular practice

in the field of Aerospace Engineering, this index provides plenty of it.
The index contains over 3.6 million journals and other e-books that can
provide Aerospace Engineers with a large amount of information and
resources pertaining in any specific field of Aerospace Engineering.

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Aerospace Engineers can know what researches have been conducted, and
find out what kinds of improvements have been made in any particular field
inside Aerospace Engineering.

Description
This is an online index to the periodical literature in the field of Aerospace
Engineering. This index can be found in the E-Resources section of the engineering
library website of Penn State. The index covers a subject range from Aeronautics to
Space sciences. Furthermore, the index covers technical documents dating from
1962 to current time. For every basic search conducted, the index produces all the
available technical documents from current to oldest timeessentially having the
new documents on the first page and the oldest documents in the last page. After
conducting a basic search on a particular subject, the right side of the Web site
shows options in narrowing the search. The reader can narrow the search by typing
in the publication title, document type, subject, classification, language or
publication date, or even click on the source type, whether the technical document
is a scholarly journal or any other type of e-book. Next, when typing in the keywords
Aeronautics into the search engine, 314121 results show up. One example of the
results is a technical document called Subsonic jet noise simulations using both
structured and unstructured. The AIAA produced this journal, as the journal mainly
talks about how they efficiently used the large-eddy simulations in order to reduce
jet noise sources. All in all, this index contains a variety of subjects for Aerospace
Engineers to look at online.

Tips

If you want to access any of the other general Engineering databases in the
online Penn State Engineering Library Web site, make sure to have an
existing user name and passwordor you will not be able to access the
database online.
There is also an advanced search option towards the right of the search box.
This gives you a more specific search option, narrowing the search results to
what you actually need.
If you want a technical document that has officially gone through an editorial
process, click on the small box under the search box that reads Peer
Review.

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Journal of Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV): Evolution Redefined

Journal of Aeronautics & Aerospace Engineering

Location
URL: http://omicsgroup.org/journals/reusable-launch-vehicles-evolution-redefined2168-9792.1000107.php?aid=11914

Reasons to use this journal

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This journal contains clear, technical information regarding the ability to

conserve, reuse and reproduce vehicles going to space.
This journal has 38 resources from other valuable journals worldwide. The
articles date back from 1986 to around today, showing around 20 years of
research and experiments in this one journal.
For Aerospace Engineers interested in the field of space, this journal would be
valuable in telling what past engineers have done to make space vehicles
more efficient and cost-friendly.

Description
This is an online journal that focuses on reusable launch vehicles to space. The
journal was created on January 1st, 2013 and officially published in February 24 th,
2013, which is recent for students to actually benefit from this article. The author
talks about the key technological aspects of a RLV, the design of an RLV and the
general working principles regarding the RLV. For instance, the author mentions
each stage of the RLV when working to space, and also goes into detail about the
body, wings, cockpit and electric power which all play an imperative part for the
reusability of the vehicle. Although this journal focuses on the specifics regarding
the RLV, it can definitely help the reader narrow down what kind of specific field the
reader wants to purse within the field of Aerospace Engineeringwhether it is the
field of launch systems, optimization, ground systems, software, and equipment,
etc.

Tips

Before going on to read the full text of the journal, make sure that this space
field is of your interest. Go to the abstract tab and briefly read what the
journal is about. If you are interested in a field working inside the Earths
boundaries, this will not be helpful and fascinating for you to read.
After reading the full text of the journal, if you want to read more about the
space launch vehicles, make sure to go to the references tab and search for
journals that will help your interest more.
If this particular subject does not interest you, there are many other journals
available on the home page of Journals of Aeronautics and Aerospace
Engineering.

Aerospace Engineering Job Resources

Aerospace Engineering Jobs Web Site

Location
URL: http://www.engineerjobs.com/jobs/aerospace-engineering/

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Reasons to use this Web Site

This is a Web site specific to Aerospace Engineers.

There is a variety of fields that students can look for, rather than one specific
field interest in this Web site.
Each job listing has a brief description so that the reader can understand
what the job is about.
If the reader is interested in one of the job listings, the reader can click on the
link provided in that section to read more details about what the job is about.
The Web site also has a location specification of where the job is, and a time
specification of when the job was posted.

Description
This is a Web site that is used for searching jobs in the career fields of Aerospace
Engineers. There are big companies as well as small companies throughout the Web
site. If the reader is interested in one of the job listings, clicking on the job link will
show the reader a specific description of what the job is and what the required skills
and experience are. The job listings cover from a range of project engineers to Coop students, showing the diverse level of positions available on the Web site.
Furthermore, there are a lot of options for the students to look at, rather than a few.
There are 1,330 jobs available to look at, so that the students can apply to
companies they have specific interest inwhich includes how much pay they
receive, what they work on and where they work for the company.

Tips

On the left side of the Web site, you can see that there is a location,
experience level and a date posted search option. You can utilize either
search option to look at a shortened list of jobs available on the Web site in
order for you to have a satisfactory location or experience position, or even a
satisfactory date of when the job was posted so that the job listing isnt to
outdated.
Before looking through all the job listings, it would be very beneficial in
knowing what career you want to purse inside the Aerospace Engineering
industry. Even if you reduce the job listings with the search option on the left
side, there are too many different types of jobs listedthus, making it a timesaving method by knowing what kind of career you want to purse.

Catalog of U.S. Government publications

Government Database
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Location
URL: http://catalog.gpo.gov/F?RN=231569122

Reasons to use the Government Database

This is a Web site that contains publications from the government. Among the
publications, there are some that talk about Aerospace Engineering.
This database helps Aerospace Engineers to find any kind of federal
regulation or law pertaining to certain within the Aerospace Industry. These
laws or regulations may be imperative to know when practicing a certain
project or experiment.

Description
The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications is an online search engine that
searches publications within the government pertaining to any topic of interest. This
finding tool provides the public with descriptive records of past and present
publications. On the home page of this finding tool, there is a basic search option
where the user just types in the keywords of what is needed into the search box.
There also is an advanced search option, which focuses on the year, format
language and keywords of the publication needed. For instance, when the keywords
Aerospace Engineering were typed into the basic search engine, the finding tool
produced a list of government publications pertaining to all the fields of Aerospace
Engineering. The finding tool shows the publication from the earliest published to
the oldest publishedessentially, the reader would see the most recent publication
at the top of the page. One publication pertaining to Aerospace Engineering that
was seen in the search results was Coming home: reentry and recovery from
space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration published this
document in 2012. This publication provides a full detail of how NASA approached
the problem of reentering the atmosphere after a space mission, and how the
technological improvements were made in safely dealing with friction and safely
landing back on Earth.
Tips

Make sure to use the advanced search option to find specific documents that
you need.
Use the keywords drop box under the search box to focus the search on
keyword(s), title, author or subject.
Do not be general in your keyword search. This may result in very broad
publications that may be not useful you. Make sure to be as specific as
possible in order to narrow down the search results.

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Statistical Abstract of the United States

Online Summary of Statistics

Location
URL: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Reasons to use the Statistical Abstract of the United States

The abstracts provided in this online source provide an efficient and

comprehensive summary of all the statistics regarding all the social, political
and economic organizations in the United States.
The sources of the data collected regarding all the organizations are from the
Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
other federal agencies, and private organizations.

Description
This is a resource that contains all of the statistics regarding the social, political and
economic facts in the United States. The resource contains statistics ranging from
agriculture to transportation, and most importantly, statistics for science and
technology. For instance, by clicking on the science and technology section, and
then clicking on the space sub-section, there is an excel sheet that lists the worldwide space launch events. Aerospace engineers could definitely utilize this resource
when trying to find statistics regarding employment, expenditures, research
developments and space.

Tips

On the left side of the online version of the Statistical Abstract of the United
States page, there is a browse section that outlines all the available topics.
Use this tool to quickly find the statistics you need to read.
If you cannot find a topic in the left side of the Web site, there is a search
engine at the top of the Web site where you can type in the keywords that
can essentially search the statistics you need.

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