Starmind

Kantonsschule Zürcher Unterland (KZU), Bülach, Switzerland, March 13, 2010: Stefan Kettner, Gymnasium Student at KZU Bülach, Switzerland, did not known that he was selected for a reward until rector Jakob Hauser officially asked him to step forward for accepting the Starmind Best Maturapaper reward. Besides a financial acknowledgment, the Starmind reward includes a personal career coaching, mentorship and an offered internship at one of the renowned engineering laboratories at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) or the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Stefan was awarded the Starmind certificate by the Starmind CEO Pascal Kaufmann, former graduate of KZU.

Stefan Kettner – “The flying wing principle: Self-construction of a flying-wing and analysis of its dynamical properties”

Stefan Kettner is interested in engineering, automotive technology, aviation, design and the construction of aircraft. In less than 3 months and after several hundred extra hours of work he successfully designed, constructed and flew and self-designed flying wing, German: Nurflügler.

Thierry Bücheler, member of the Starmind Advisory board and Pascal Kaufmann, Starmind partner, nominated Stefan’s work out of over 130 Maturaprojects displayed at KZU. “I was attending Stefan’s presentation about the history and theoretical background of flying wings, detailing the difficulty in construction and design as well as the high potential flying wings have for civil aviation. I really enjoyed the neat investigation on literature and documentation. It was the first time I have seen pictures of the famous German Horton HO IX, built by German engineers in the second world war, of which there are only 2 photos left. When Stefan then elaborated that he constructed such a flying wing as small prototype (ca. 2.2m wing span) and successfully flew one I was deeply impressed.” states Pascal. “Everyone who has ever self-constructed an aircraft knows what kind of dilligence, stamina and courage it takes to build such an aircraft. Stefan Kettner is definitely a worthy holder of the first Starmind best paper award. Congratulations!”

Admission to the Top Engineers Starmind group

Stefan’s was invited to the newly launched Starmind top engineers group at Starmind. As one of the youngest Starmind members, Stefan aspires to enrole at the Swiss Federal Institte of Technology (ETH) focusing on machine and process engineering. The Starmind award was not only a first step towards a successful career yet Stefan also established and tapped an important network to engineers all over the world.

The Starmind team wishes Stefan all the best.