Faculty, Scientists and Staff
VLRCOE Directors
Dr. Edward Smith
Director
Aerospace Engineering
E-mail: ecs5@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0966
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-smith-31b37934/
Vertical Flight Society (VFS) faculty advisor; Rotorcraft dynamics and aeromechanics; Composite and smart structures; Active and passive vibration and interior noise control; Elastomeric materials, drivetrain design and dynamics; Full-spectrum crashworthiness
Dr. Ken Brentner
Administrative Director
Aerospace Engineering
E-mail: ksb16@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-6433
Rotorcraft acoustics, Computational aeroacoustics, High-performance computing, Aerodynamics.
Dr. Joe Horn
Associate Director
Aerospace Engineering
E-mail: joehorn@psu.edu
Phone: 814-865-6434
Aircraft Flight Dynamics and Control, Rotorcraft Flight Dynamics and Control
Dr. Sven Schmitz
Associate Director
Aerospace Engineering
E-mail: sus52@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0778
Computational and Experimental Fluid Dynamics; Wind Energy
Dr. Benjamin Beck
Associate Director
Applied Research Laboratory / Aerospace Engineering
E-mail: bsb21@arl.psu.edu
Structural dynamics and acoustics, flow noise
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Charles Bakis
Engineering Science and Mechanics | Email: cbakis@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-3178
Manufacturing, Performance, Evaluation, Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials
Dr. Robert Bill
Aerospace Engineering | Email:billrc2@cox.net
Drivetrain and propulsion systems
Dr. James Coder
Aerospace Engineering | Email: jcoder@psu.edu
Computational fluid dynamics, applied aerodynamics, laminar-turbulent transition modeling, turbulence modeling
Dr. Hans DeSmidt
University of Tennessee | Email: hdesmidt@utk.edu | Phone: 865-974-5259
Drive Systems, Active Structural Control, Structural Dynamics, Smart Structures
COL (ret.) Sam Evans
Penn State ARL | Email sse11@psu.edu| Phone: 814-865-8232
Aviation logistics, flight operations, condition-based-monitoring
Dr. Eric Greenwood
Aerospace Engineering | Email: eric.greenwood@psu.edu | 814-863-9712
Theoretical and experimental methods for the aeroacoustics of flight vehicles. Development of fast aircraft noise models using semianalytical and advanced empirical methods. Novel applications of acoustic modeling, including real-time feedback of noise exposure for pilots, low noise path planning, and providing autonomous flight systems with “acoustic awareness”.
Dr. David Hall
Aerospace Engineering | Email: dkh5498@psu.edu | 814-865-2569
Air breathing and electric propulsion.
Dr. Daning Huang
Aerospace Engineering | Email: daning@psu.edu | 814-865-2569
Machine learning, multi-physics system optimization, aeroelasticity, high performance computing
Dr. Nick Jaffa
Penn State ARL | Email: naj15@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-7142
Experimental fluid dynamics
Dr. Eric Johnson
Aerospace Engineering | Email: Eric.Johnson@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-3813
Autonomous vehicles and systems, flight dynamics, guidance and control
Dr. Robert Kunz
Mechanical Engineering | Email: rfk102@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-2144
CFD, Multi-phase Flow, Gearbox and Propulsion System Flow Simulation
Dr. Jack Langelaan
Aerospace Engineering | Email: jlangelaan@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-6817
Sensor fusion and estimation, control and path planning for autonomous vehicles and robots. Autonomous mobility in cluttered terrain. Cooperative estimation by teams of autonomous robots or distributed sensor networks. Autonomous soaring flight.
Dr. Seongkyu Lee
University of California | Email: skulee@ucdavis.edu | Phone: 530-752-4432
CFD for rotating blades, computational aeroacoustics, turbulent broadband noise
Dr. George Lesieutre
Aerospace Engineering | Email: g-lesieutre@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-0103
Structural dynamics of aerospace vehicles, composites. Vibration control, passive damping. Adaptive structures, piezoelectric actuation. Health monitoring, energy harvesting. Systems engineering.
Dr. Cliff Lissenden
Engineering Science and Mechanics | Email: Lissenden@psu.edu | 814-863-5754
Structural Integrity
Dr. Mark Maughmer
Aerospace Engineering | Email: mdm@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-4485
Aerodynamics, aircraft design, aircraft stability and control
Dr. Sean McIntyre
Penn State ARL | Email: smm5164@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-6326
Propulsion, CFD, aerotherodynamics
Dr. Dennis McLaughlin
Aerospace Engineering | Email: dkm2@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-2560
Experimental Fluid Mechanics, Aeroacoustics
Dr. Mark Miller
Aerospace Engineering | Email: mark.a.miller@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-0043
Experimental aerodynamics
Mr. Clark Moose
Penn State ARL | Email: cam168@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-4212
Propulsion, CFD, non-destructive evaluation, composite structures, structural health monitoring
Dr. Philip Morris
Aerospace Engineering | Email: pjm@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-0157
Interim Department Head; Aeroacoustics, numerical simulation, hydrodynamic stability, turbulence modeling
Dr. Jose Palacios
Aerospace Engineering | Email: jlp324@psu.edu | Phone: 814-867-4871
Aircraft icing, Rotorcraft aeromechanics, Active rotors
Dr. Vrishank Raghav
Auburn University | Email:raghav@auburn.edu | Phone: (334) 844-6811
Experimental and applied aerodynamics
Dr. Ehsan Taheri
Auburn University | Email: ezt0028@auburn.edu |
Optimal control, orbital mechanics, trajectory optimization
Dr. Chris Rahn
Mechanical Engineering | Email: cdrahn@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-6237
Active Controls, Structural Dynamics, battery systems and electric machines, mechatronics
Dr. David Reich
Penn State ARL | Email:dbr141@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-6127
Fluid dynamics
Dr. Umberto Saetti
University of Maryland | Email: saetti@umd.edu
Flight controls and simulation
Dr. Micah Shepherd
Brigham Young University | Email: micah_shepherd@byu.edu
Structural acoustics and structural dynamics, optimization
COL (ret.). Lewis Watt
Aerospace Engineering | Email: lcw2@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-2952
Aviation logistics, condition based monitoring, flight operations
Dr. Doug Wolfe
Penn State ARL | Email: DouglasEWolfe@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-9658
Material science, advanced coating systems, additive manufacturing
Dr. Namiko Yamamoto
Aerospace Engineering | Email: nuy12@psu.edu | Phone: 814-867-5775
Scalable manufacturing and micro-structuring of novel multi-functional nanocomposites for aerospace and helicopter structures
Dr. Jianhua Zhang
Aerospace Engineering | Email: jxz19@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-1986
Rotorcraft aeromechanics, blade design and optimization, active vibration control
Applied Research Laboratory Faculty and Research Scientists
Col. (ret. USAF) Tim Bair
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: tdb14@psu.edu | Office: (814) 863-3880
DoD Operations, Logistics, Manufacturing Technology
Dr. Ben Beck
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: bsb21@arl.psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-0819
Noise control, composites
Dr. Robert Campbell
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: rlc138@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-8959
Fluid-structure interaction modeling and algorithm development, structural-dynamics and acoustics modeling, fluid-film bearing modeling and solver development, high-performance computing, experimental modal analysis algorithm and software implementation
Col. (ret. USA) Sam Evans
Aerospace Engineering | Email: sse11@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-2569
Flight Dynamics, DoD Operations, Logistics, HUMS
Aaron Isaacson
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: aci101@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-5832
Gear performance characterization, failure analysis, gear tooth friction and efficiency, ferrous metallurgy, high strength aluminum alloys and aluminum matrix composites, sintering of metal and ceramic matrix composites and control system design
Dr. Nicholas Jaffa
Applied Research Laboratory | E-mail: naj15@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-7142
Turbomachinery (compressors, turbines, and propulsion systems), aerodynamics, experimental fluid mechanics, development and validation of novel measurement techniques
Dr. Jules Lindau
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: jwl10@arl.psu.edu | 814-865-8938
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Multiphase FLows, Turbomachinery
Dr. Sean McIntyre
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: smm5164@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-1741
CFD methods development, multiphase flow models and methods, methods for multi-scale problems, heat transfer
Dr. Karl Reichard
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: kmr5@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-7681
Automated Reasoning, Hybrid Neural Networks, Data Fusion for Complex Systems
Dr. Edward (Ted) Reutzel
Applied Research Laboratory | E-mail: ewr101@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-9891
Additive manufacturing, laser material interaction; laser processing; sensing and controls
Dr. Douglas Wolfe
Applied Research Laboratory | E-mail: dew125@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-0316
Synthesis, processing, and characterization of nanocomposite, nanolayered, multilayered, functionally graded and multifunctional coatings for improved erosion, corrosion, and thermal resistance
Dr. Mike Yukish
Applied Research Laboratory | Email: may106@psu.edu | Phone: 814-863-7143
Crashworthiness, optimization
Research Associates and Visiting Scholars
Dr. Robert Bill
Aerospace Engineering | Email: Billrc2@cs.com | 814-865-2569
Propulsion and drivetrains.
Dr. Jianhua Zhang
Aerospace Engineering | Email: jxz19@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-1986
Rotorcraft Dynamics, Optimization, Smart Structures
Staff
Brenda Kasubick
Aerospace Engineering | Email: bmk16@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-1966
Finance Support
Lindsay Moist
Aerospace Engineering | Email: lnm3@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-6997
Finance Support
Ben Enders
Aerospace Engineering | Email: bre12@psu.edu | Phone: 814-865-3767
IT Support