Cal Day
The best way to know if Berkeley Aerospace Engineering is right for you is to meet us! Imagine seeing the most exciting, outrageous, informative aspects of Berkeley and the College of Engineering, all in one day. Join us for Cal Day, our annual admitted student event where the Berkeley community welcomes you, the newly admitted Aerospace Engineering students (Class of 2030) and families.
Cal Day, Saturday, April 18, 2026
Welcome and Information Session 12:45pm – 2:00pm | 310 Jacobs Hall |RSVP
Presented by Professor Panos Papadopoulos, Faculty Director, Aerospace Engineering Program. Learn about the Aerospace Engineering major and hear an overview of the aerospace program’s focus on emerging technologies, including sustainable aviation, autonomous flight and space exploration. Also, hear from a panel of current Aerospace Engineering students about their academic and student life experience in the major with Q&A session to follow.
Aerospace Engineering Lab Tour in Hesse Hall 2:00pm – 3:00pm | Meet Tour Guides at the Aerospace Engineering Table in the Etcheverry Hall Breezeway.
Cal Day Event Contact Information
Name: Karren Bautista Tanisaki
Email: aero@berkeley.edu
Student Groups
Student groups will be located in the breezeway between Etcheverry Hall and Soda Hall.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Description: The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is a leading professional organization dedicated to advancing aerospace science, engineering, and technology. It brings together engineers, researchers, students, and industry professionals to share knowledge, publish research, and promote innovation in aviation and space exploration.
Berkeley Formula Racing (BFR)
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
BFR B26 Unveiling! Join Formula SAE for the unveiling of B26, our 2026 internal combustion race car built for Formula SAE competition. This demonstration highlights the vehicle’s engineering, design evolution, and performance-focused development across aerodynamics, chassis, powertrain, suspension, and data systems. Attendees will get an up-close look at how Formula SAE applies hands-on design, manufacturing, testing, and validation to produce a competitive race car while preparing students for careers in engineering, motorsport, and advanced vehicle development.
CalSol
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
CalSol has been designing, building, and racing fully road-legal solar vehicles since our inception in 1990 (we are on our 11th vehicle!). Come talk to us to learn more about our competitions or any of our 6 subteams: Mechanical, Electrical, Solar, Strategy, Battery, and Operations. Feel free to follow us on Instagram @berkeleycalsol or reach out to calsol-me@berkeley.edu to connect!
Design Build Fly
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Design Build Fly is a student-led RC airplane team with the goal of building a plane every year to compete in the annual DBF competition. Come see our trainer plane, try out our RC plane simulator, and see the team’s first ever scratch-built plane.
Pi Tau Sigma
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Join Pi Tau Sigma for an eventful Cal Day! We are a Mechanical Engineering Honor Society that promotes the professional development of high achieving Mechanical Engineering students. Come by to learn about what it means to be a mechanical engineering student at UC Berkeley, gain insights into engineering life, and hear about club opportunities such as resume review, review sessions and more. Don’t miss this chance to ask MechE students questions and win cool prizes!
UAVs@Berkeley
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
UAVs@Berkeley — Autonomous Drones, Built from Scratch UAVs@Berkeley is UC Berkeley’s only competitive UAV engineering team, building fully autonomous drones from the ground up. At Cal Day 2026, we’re showcasing a high-speed delivery quadcopter and a fixed-wing VTOL tailsitter for mapping and long-range missions. Our aircraft feature custom batteries, avionics PCBs, carbon-fiber/3D-printed structures, and autonomy software on PX4/ArduPilot with computer vision and GPS-denied navigation, enabling fully autonomous flight in complex environments.
Space Enterprise at Berkeley
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Space Enterprise at Berkeley is a premier liquid rocketry team focused on becoming the first collegiate rocketry team to send a liquid-fueled rocket to space. We will be showcasing our hardware and seeking prospective members at Cal Day!
Space Technologies and Rocketry (STAR)
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
STAR is Berkeley’s only competitive rocketry team, with more than twenty successful launches over the past decade. STAR competes annually in the Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition (IREC) at Spaceport America in New Mexico. With over 100 members, STAR works on both solid and liquid rockets. We are currently developing our third liquid vehicle, improving on our most recent liquid vehicle ALULA which flew to 6,126 feet and was successfully recovered, becoming a winner of the Friend of Amateur Rocketry Dollar Per Foot Challenge.