These students built a rocket, a satellite — and a national reputation
For years, CSULB’s College of Engineering has been a powerhouse of aerospace education — home to one of the largest programs in California and rooted in the heart of the state’s spaceflight industry.
Surrounded by giants like Boeing and next-gen companies including SpaceX, Rocket Lab and Relativity Space, the college offers students immersive training and endless career opportunities in one of the world’s most dynamic aerospace hubs.
That impact was nationally recognized last fall when U.S. News & World Report ranked CSULB #4 in undergraduate aerospace programs among public universities without doctoral degrees — a record high for the university.
College of Engineering Dean Jinny Rhee called the 2024-25 ranking a proud milestone.
“We have very strong faculty who are very engaged in research," she said. "We have a very robust student body. And we have one of the largest aerospace engineering programs in the state and probably in the country.”
Here’s a quick look at four key pillars driving CSULB’s rise:
1. Rocket Lab
CSULB’s Beach Rocket Lab, a nationally recognized hub for advanced aerospace research, is giving students the chance to do what few undergraduates ever experience: design, build and launch liquid-fueled rockets.
Earlier this month, the Beach Rocket Lab senior design team successfully launched a liquid bi-propellant rocket in the Mojave Desert — the first such launch since 2019. The milestone places CSULB among a short list of universities with hands-on student programs in liquid propulsion.
Led by Dr. Mahdi Yoozbashizadeh (pronounced yoos-bah-shee-ZAH-deh), the lab’s high-research capacity and location in the center of Space Beach offers a unique end-to-end experience at the undergraduate level — from metal and plastic 3D printing to full-scale rocket assembly.
“Most of my undergraduate research assistants have internship experience in major companies such as Northrop, Boeing and Relativity Space,” he said.
2. Drone swarms
As the drone industry explodes, CSULB is staying ahead of the curve with cutting-edge research in “multi-agent systems” — AI-powered drones that move and work together like a swarm of bees, communicating and coordinating to carry out tasks as a team with little or no human intervention.
One of the university’s largest drone-related research efforts is focused on improving and simplifying the process of flying multiple drones for a single mission, with real-world applications in agriculture, traffic control, search-and-rescue and healthcare delivery.
Plans to build a “drone cage” are underway, as well, which will allow students to safely test their designs and experiment in a controlled environment.
3. Combustion research
CSULB is home to one of the most respected combustion research labs in the country, led by mechanical engineering Professor Joseph Kalman. His Solid Propulsion & Combustion Lab explores how fuels ignite, burn and release energy — research that’s critical for building better, safer and more efficient rocket engines.
Using high-speed cameras, lasers and even x-ray diagnostics, Kalman’s team studies everything from solid rocket fuels to new techniques that reduce pollution from combustion.Kalman has received major grants from the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and the lab’s reputation continues to grow, making it a destination for top students and a trusted partner for industry research.
4. Satellite development
One of the most exciting milestones in CSULB’s aerospace expansion is SharkSat — a student-led satellite project selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative. Designed to monitor blue light pollution from space, SharkSat is named after the university’s mascot and aims for a 2026 or 2027 launch.
Students from across engineering disciplines are collaborating on every system — avionics, power, communications — with support from both NASA and industry experts.
“We have smaller teams that developed the satellite parts from scratch, and NASA approves each stage of the process," said student Saloni Singh, this year’s outreach officer for SharkSat, adding that the teams also get mentoring from experts at Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. “They help us a lot."
A new home for aerospace
The new rankings come at a great time, Rhee said, as the university is working to raise the last few million dollars needed to open Beach Launch Pad, a new, state-of-the-art technology wing in the College of Engineering. Valued at $15 million, the renovation will include a dedicated rocket lab, a clean room for satellite development, a modernized machine shop, an additive manufacturing lab and an indoor drone cage for advanced swarm robotics research.
“I hope to see the continued growth of the aerospace industry in Long Beach and beyond,” Rhee said, “powered by graduates from our program.”
Photo Gallery: CSULB Rocket Lab in Action
In January 2025, Beach students traveled to the Mojave Desert to conduct a static test of their rocket engine. Three months later, they returned to the same site to launch it. [Watch the launch.]
