OpenFieldUtah State · Logan, Utah, United States
Utah State University (USU) is Utah's public flagship land-grant and space-grant Carnegie R1 research university, established in 1888 in scenic Cache Valley in Logan, Utah. Home to the world-renowned Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL)—a DoD University Affiliated Research Center with flight hardware on hundreds of NASA satellite missions—USU is equally celebrated for water research at the Utah Water Research Laboratory, agriculture, and education.
USU comprises eight colleges including the College of Engineering, S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, and the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. USU operates the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) and the Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL).
Undergraduate admissions evaluate high school core GPA and coursework. Graduate admissions require an accredited bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA, statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, and English language proficiency (TOEFL 79+ or IELTS 6.5+).
Elite space systems doctorate partnering with the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), investigating small satellite constellations, cryogenic infrared space sensors, autonomous spacecraft navigation, and rad-hard embedded electronics.
Housed at the world-renowned Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL), researching Colorado River basin hydrology, high-resolution hydraulic flume modeling, sensor cyber-infrastructure, and snowmelt runoff forecasting.
Top-tier ecological doctorate based at the Quinney College of Natural Resources, studying quaking aspen clonal forest restoration (including Pando, the world's largest organism), ungulate herbivory, and forest fire dynamics.
Doctoral research in aeroacoustics, nonlinear flight control of uncrewed aerial systems, orbital trajectory optimization, hypersonic aerodynamics, and composite spacecraft structures.
Engineering living cells to synthesize recombinant spider silk biomaterials, biofuels from microalgae, therapeutic proteins, and biochemical diagnostic biosensors.
Rigorous quantitative economics master's examining Western water rights markets, public lands policy, agricultural trade optimization, and econometrics.
Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering & SDL
Dr. Geller investigates spacecraft navigation and guidance systems, autonomous rendezvous and docking algorithms for NASA missions, and linear covariance analys...
View researcher profile ↗Director & Adjunct Professor of Ecology
Western Aspen Alliance & Quinney College of Natural Resources
Dr. Rogers directs the Western Aspen Alliance, leading research on the health, herbivory threats, and conservation management of the Pando clone and Western asp...
View researcher profile ↗Professor of Biological Engineering
Department of Biological Engineering
Dr. Lewis is a world-renowned pioneer in synthetic spider silk, developing recombinant protein expression systems for artificial spider silk fibers, biomaterial...
View researcher profile ↗OpenField is an independent research platform not officially affiliated with Utah State University. Information reflects public documentation reviewed on 2026-10-16. Students must verify application deadlines, fee structures, and prerequisite details directly with official university admissions departments before applying.
Updated 2026-10-16 · Editorial policy · Submit corrections