School of Engineering
Showing 1-100 of 218 Results
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Mahdi Al-Husseini
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Winter 2021
BioCaptain Mahdi Al-Husseini is the modernization director at the 25th Infantry Division and an active-duty HH60M helicopter pilot stationed at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. He is a graduate researcher at Stanford where he studies intelligent systems and human-autonomy teaming as applied to search and rescue, medical evacuation, and wildfire response. Mahdi is a registered patent agent, professional engineer, and inventor with more than 30 patents and patent applications, the majority of which have been acquired by the military and industry.
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Juan Alonso
Vance D. and Arlene C. Coffman Professor and the James and Anna Marie Spilker Chair of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioProf. Alonso is the founder and director of the Aerospace Design Laboratory (ADL) where he specializes in the development of high-fidelity computational design methodologies to enable the creation of realizable and efficient aerospace systems. Prof. Alonso’s research involves a large number of different manned and unmanned applications including transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic aircraft, helicopters, turbomachinery, and launch and re-entry vehicles. He is the author of over 200 technical publications on the topics of computational aircraft and spacecraft design, multi-disciplinary optimization, fundamental numerical methods, and high-performance parallel computing. Prof. Alonso is keenly interested in the development of an advanced curriculum for the training of future engineers and scientists and has participated actively in course-development activities in both the Aeronautics & Astronautics Department (particularly in the development of coursework for aircraft design, sustainable aviation, and UAS design and operation) and for the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME) at Stanford University. He was a member of the team that currently holds the world speed record for human powered vehicles over water. A student team led by Prof. Alonso also holds the altitude record for an unmanned electric vehicle under 5 lbs of mass.
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Ethan Anzia
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2023
BioFirst year Masters student studying Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University with experience in many programs such as Python, MATLAB, EES, NX, Abaqus, SolidWorks Simulation, Arduino, Microsoft Office, LabView, and Mathcad. Possesses a CSWP (Certified SolidWorks Professional) License and proficient in all mechanical engineering subjects including Thermodynamics, Solid Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis, Heat Transfer, Aerodynamics, and Orbital Mechanics. I got my Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO. I have prior work experience as a part of the Metal Structures/Seals Design & Analysis group within Propulsion Systems at Northrop Grumman in Promontory, Utah. I completed joint volume calculations for thermal analysis, generated manufacturing review dispositions and modeled forward skirt components on multiple programs such as SLS for the Artemis program. I also have been a peer tutor in the subjects of Thermodynamics, Statics, Solid Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis, Feedback Systems, and Machine Design. I am currently seeking an internship or co-op experience in an Aerospace Engineering position.
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Mansur Arief
Postdoctoral Scholar, Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioI am a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford Intelligent Systems Lab (SISL). I received my Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon in 2023 and a master's degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Much of my work combines machine learning and rare-event theories to efficiently simulate rare catastrophic events. The applications of this line of work include the accelerated testing of intelligent systems. Currently, I am working on AI for safety and sustainability projects, which merge efficient simulation frameworks with optimization and decision-making algorithms.
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Manan Arya
Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsManan Arya leads the Morphing Space Structures Laboratory. His research is on structures that can adapt their shape to respond to changing requirements. Examples include deployable structures for spacecraft that can stow in constrained volumes for launch and then unfold to larger sizes in space, terrestrial structures with variable geometry, and morphing robots. Key research thrusts include lightweight fiber-reinforced composite materials to enable innovative designs for flexible structures, and the algorithmic generation of the geometry of morphing structures – the arrangement of stiff and compliant elements – to enable novel folding mechanisms.
He has published more than 20 journal and conference papers and has been awarded 5 US patents. Prior to joining Stanford, he was a Technologist at the Advanced Deployable Structures Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, where he developed and tested breakthrough designs for space structures, including deployable reflectarrays, starshades, and solar arrays. -
Juan Blanch
Sr Research Engineer
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research focuses on the design of navigation integrity algorithms for safety critical applications (like air navigation and autonomous driving). I am interested in both the design of practical algorithms that provide the required safety margins, and in the theoretical limits on the performance of the integrity monitoring algorithms.
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Brian Cantwell
Edward C. Wells Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus
BioProfessor Cantwell's research interests are in the area of turbulent flow. Recent work has centered in three areas: the direct numerical simulation of turbulent shear flows, theoretical studies of the fine-scale structure of turbulence, and experimental measurements of turbulent structure in flames. Experimental studies include the development of particle-tracking methods for measuring velocity fields in unsteady flames and variable density jets. Research in turbulence simulation includes the development of spectral methods for simulating vortex rings, the development of topological methods for interpreting complex fields of data, and simulations of high Reynolds number compressible and incompressible wakes. Theoretical studies include predictions of the asymptotic behavior of drifting vortex pairs and vortex rings and use of group theoretical methods to study the nonlinear dynamics of turbulent fine-scale motions. Current projects include studies of fast-burning fuels for hybrid propulsion and decomposition of nitrous oxide for space propulsion.
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Fu-Kuo Chang
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioProfessor Chang's primary research interest is in the areas of multi-functional materials and intelligent structures with particular emphases on structural health monitoring, intelligent self-sensing diagnostics, and multifunctional energy storage composites for transportation vehicles as well as safety-critical assets and medical devices. His specialties include embedded sensors and stretchable sensor networks with built-in self-diagnostics, integrated diagnostics and prognostics, damage tolerance and failure analysis for composite materials, and advanced multi-physics computational methods for multi-functional structures. Most of his work involves system integration and multi-disciplinary engineering in structural mechanics, electrical engineering, signal processing, and multi-scale fabrication of materials. His recent research topics include: Multifunctional energy storage composites, Integrated health management for aircraft structures, bio-inspired intelligent sensory materials for fly-by-feel autonomous vehicles, active sensing diagnostics for composite structures, self-diagnostics for high-temperature materials, etc.
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Richard Christensen
Professor (Research) of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus
BioProfessor Christensen's research is concerned with the mechanics of materials. The behavior of polymers and polymeric fiber composites are areas of specialization. Of particular interest is the field of micro-mechanics that focuses on materials' functionality at intermediate-length scales between atomic and the usual macro scale. Applicable techniques involve the methods of homogenization for all types of composite materials. The intended outcomes of his research are useful means of characterizing the yielding, damage accumulation, and failure behavior of modern materials. A related website has been developed to provide critical evaluations for the mathematical failure criteria used with the various classes of engineering materials. Most of these materials types are employed in aerospace structures and products.
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Anthony Corso
Postdoctoral Scholar, Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioAnthony is a postdoctoral researcher in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at Stanford University where he is advised by Professor Mykel Kochenderfer in the Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory (SISL) and he is the executive director of the Stanford Center for AI Safety. His research is focused on the use of algorithmic decision-making for safety-critical applications, emphasizing the creation of robust, reliable autonomous systems. He has developed algorithms for the validation and verification of complex autonomous systems such as autonomous vehicles and aviation subsystems. More recently he has applied algorithmic decision making to low-carbon earth resource projects for storing carbon, producing renewable energy, and storing renewable fuels.In 2014 he received a B.S. in physics from Harvey Mudd College with an emphasis on computational methods and in 2016 he received his Master’s in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford. He is a recipient of the Stanford Graduate Fellowship and the Nicholas J. Hoff award for outstanding performance as a Master’s Student.
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Simone D'Amico
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Geophysics
BioSimone D’Amico is Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AA), W.M. Keck Faculty Scholar in the School of Engineering, and Professor of Geophysics (by Courtesy). He is the Founding Director of the Space Rendezvous Laboratory and Director of the AA Undergraduate Program. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Politecnico di Milano (2003) and the Ph.D. degree from Delft University of Technology (2010). Before Stanford, Dr. D’Amico was research scientist and team leader at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for 11 years. There he gave key contributions to formation-flying and proximity operations missions such as GRACE (NASA/DLR), PRISMA (OHB/DLR/CNES/DTU), TanDEM-X (DLR), BIROS (DLR) and PROBA-3 (ESA). His research aims at enabling future miniature distributed space systems for unprecedented remote sensing, space and planetary science, exploration and spaceflight sustainability. To this end he performs fundamental and applied research at the intersection of advanced astrodynamics, spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC), autonomy, decision making and space system engineering. Dr. D’Amico is institutional PI of three upcoming autonomous satellite swarm missions funded by NASA and NSF, namely STARLING, VISORS, and SWARM-EX. He is Fellow of AAS, Associate Fellow of AIAA, Associate Editor of AIAA JGCD, Advisor of NASA and several space startups. He was the recipient of several awards, including Best Paper Awards at IAF (2022), IEEE (2021), AIAA (2021), AAS (2019) conferences, the Leonardo 500 Award by the Leonardo da Vinci Society/ISSNAF (2019), FAI/NAA’s Group Diploma of Honor (2018), DLR’s Sabbatical/Forschungssemester (2012) and Wissenschaft Preis (2006), and NASA’s Group Achievement Award for the GRACE mission (2004).
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Kaitlin Dennison
Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Spring 2019
BioKaitlin Dennison earned her B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT (2017). She received her M.S. in aeronautics & astronautics from Stanford University in Stanford, CA (2019) where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in aeronautics & astronautics.
Kaitlin worked with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on telescope optics to aid the search for exoplanets. She was also a scholar for the Air Force Research Laboratory where she improved the spacecraft tracking algorithms involving telescope imagery. Additionally, she interned for Blue Origin where she progressed LIDAR-based navigation methods. Her dissertation research in the Space Rendezvous Laboratory advances multi-agent optical tracking and structure from motion in spacecraft swarms with limited resources. -
Sigrid Elschot
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
BioProf. Elschot's research involves space weather detection and modeling for improved spacecraft designs, and advanced signal processing and electromagnetic wave interactions with plasma for ground-to-satellite communication systems. These topics fall under the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) umbrella that include environmental remote sensing using satellite systems and ground-based radar. Her current efforts include using dust accelerators and light-gas guns to understand the effects of hypervelocity particle impacts on spacecraft along with Particle-In-Cell simulations, and using ground-based radars to characterize the space debris and meteoroid population remotely. She also has active programs in hypersonic plasmas associated with re-entry vehicles.
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Anton Ermakov
Acting Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioDr. Ermakov's research lies at the intersection of planetary science and planetary exploration by robotic means and focuses on studying the internal structure and evolution of the Solar System bodies ranging from asteroids to gas giants. He received an Engineer Degree in Space Geodesy from the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography in 2010 and a Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017. After receiving his doctorate degree, Dr. Ermakov was a post-doctoral scholar at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at the Earth and Planetary Science Department of the University of California, Berkeley. Since 2021, Dr. Ermakov has been a research scientist at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Lab. In his research, Dr. Ermakov combines a diverse range of spacecraft data (e.g., spacecraft radiometric tracking, stereo-imaging, magnetometry, microwave radiometry and geologic mapping) with geophysical and orbital dynamics modeling to probe the interiors and histories of Solar System bodies.
Dr. Ermakov has been a member of the NASA Dawn mission team. Dawn was the first mission to orbit two small bodies in the Solar System: asteroid Vesta and dwarf Ceres. Small bodies are a time machine that lets us explore the environment in which planets formed. Combining gravity and topography data sets is one of the most powerful tool to study deep planetary interiors from orbit. Dr. Ermakov used gravity and shape data for detailed studies of asteroid Vesta's and dwarf planet Ceres's internal structures. The Dawn data have established a framework for future geophysical investigations of water-rich worlds in the outer Solar System such as Europa and Enceladus.
Currently, Dr. Ermakov is a participating scientist in the NASA’s Juno mission. Juno is currently orbiting Jupiter and has performed several flybys of the Jovian moons. Dr. Ermakov uses the data from the Juno’s instrument suite to study the interior of Jupiter and its satellites in context of their formation and evolution models. -
Saman Farhangdoust
Postdoctoral Scholar, Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioDr. Saman Farhangdoust is pursuing the goal of using his interdisciplinary knowledge to advance the Smart City and Space concept and make a lasting impact on society. He enjoys venturing into new disciplines to combine cutting-edge technologies and develop novel solutions to today’s structural safety problems.
As a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University, Saman works on multi-functional materials and smart structures with particular emphases on intelligent self-sensing diagnostics and integrated health management for space and aircraft structures.
Outside of his research at Stanford, Saman is collaborating with MIT Media Lab as a Technical Consultant and also with Boeing Research and Technology as a Research Consultant to advance sensing and structural health monitoring systems.
Saman is considered a talented young researcher who has made valuable multidisciplinary contributions at an international level. These research activities have led to more than 40 publications including journal articles, conference proceedings, a textbook, U.S. Patents, national reports and guidelines to date. -
Charbel Farhat
Vivian Church Hoff Professor of Aircraft Structures and Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCharbel Farhat and his Research Group (FRG) develop mathematical models, advanced computational algorithms, and high-performance software for the design, analysis, and digital twinning of complex systems in aerospace, marine, mechanical, and naval engineering. They contribute major advances to Simulation-Based Engineering Science. Current engineering foci in research are on reliable autonomous carrier landing in rough seas; dissipation of vertical landing energies through structural flexibility; nonlinear aeroelasticity of N+3 aircraft with High Aspect Ratio (HAR) wings; pulsation and flutter of a parachute; pendulum motion in main parachute clusters; coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerators for Mars landing; flight dynamics of hypersonic systems and their trajectories; and advanced digital twinning. Current theoretical and computational emphases in research are on high-performance, multi-scale modeling for the high-fidelity analysis of multi-component, multi-physics problems; discrete-event-free embedded boundary methods for CFD and FSI; efficient Bayesian optimization using physics-based surrogate models; modeling and quantifying model-form uncertainty; probabilistic, physics-based machine learning; mechanics-informed artificial neural networks for data-driven constitutive modeling; and efficient nonlinear projection-based model order reduction for time-critical applications such as design, active control, and digital twinning.
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Michele Ferretti
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2023
BioAeronautics and Astronautics MS student and Graduate Research Assistant in the High-Temperature Gas Dynamics Laboratory (Hanson Group).
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Grace Gao
Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
BioGrace Gao is an assistant professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. She leads the Navigation and Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory (NAV Lab). Before joining Stanford University, she was faculty at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She obtained her Ph.D. degree at Stanford University. Her research is on robust and secure perception, localization and navigation with applications to manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous driving cars, as well as space robotics.
Prof. Gao has won a number of awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the Institute of Navigation Early Achievement Award and the RTCA William E. Jackson Award. She received the Inspiring Early Academic Career Award by Stanford University, and Distinguished Promotion Award from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has won Best Paper/Presentation of the Session Awards 29 times at Institute of Navigation conferences over the span of 17 years. She received the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research from the College of Engineering, University of Illinois. For her teaching and advising, Prof. Gao has been on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students at University of Illinois multiple times. She won the College of Engineering Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence, the Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising, and AIAA Illinois Chapter’s Teacher of the Year. Prof. Gao also received AIAA Stanford Chapter Advisor of the Year Award in 2022; Teacher of the Year Award in 2023. -
Kentaro Hara
Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioKen Hara is an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. He received a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Plasma Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, and B.S. and M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Tokyo. He was a Visiting Research Physicist at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow. Professor Hara’s research interests include electric propulsion, low temperature plasmas, plasma physics (plasma-wall interactions, plasma-wave interactions), data-driven modeling, rarefied gas flows, and computational fluid and plasma dynamics. He is a recipient of the Air Force Young Investigator Program Award, the Department of Energy Early Career Award, and the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award.
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Dr. G. Scott Hubbard
Affiliate, Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioDr. Hubbard's research interests include the study of both human and robotic exploration of space with a particular focus on technology and missions for planetary exploration, especially Mars. Prof. Hubbard is also an expert on the emerging entrepreneurial space industry and is the Director Emeritus of the Stanford Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation (COE CST). As part of his ongoing engagement with robotic Mars missions, Hubbard serves as a member of National Academy of Science review groups and as a frequent consultant to NASA projects. Current topics include the Mars Sample Return architecture and studying the infusion of science objectives into human exploration missions. Dr. Hubbard's commercial space interests examine policies to enable, facilitate and promote such ventures. As the former Director of NASA's Ames Research Center, he maintains an active connection to the space exploration community. Hubbard is also the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal New Space.
Brief Biography: Dr. Scott Hubbard has been a leader in space exploration for almost 50 years. His career includes a National Lab, a start-up venture, NASA, and Stanford. At NASA, Dr. Hubbard is best known as Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, the first Mars Program Director (aka the "Mars Czar"), and the founder of NASA's Astrobiology Institute. As the sole NASA member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), Hubbard’s work demonstrated the definitive technical cause of the accident. At Stanford, Hubbard has been very active in the emerging entrepreneurial space enterprise, establishing a peer-reviewed journal New Space, and creating the Stanford Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation., From 2012 to 2023 Hubbard chaired the SpaceX Commercial Crew Safety Advisory Panel. Although now retired from teaching and advising he continues to serve on various committees for the National Academy, NASA and other groups. He is the author of the award winning "Exploring Mars: Chronicles from a Decade of Discovery" and his many honors include eight NASA medals including NASA’s highest recognition, the Distinguished Service Medal. Dr. Hubbard is also an Honorary Fellow of the AIAA. A brief video of Hubbard's career may be viewed at https://vimeo.com/172038243. More background is available at https://gscotthubbard.com/ including Hubbard's lifelong passion for playing music. -
Antony Jameson
Professor (Research) of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Emeritus
BioProfessor Jameson's research focuses on the numerical solution of partial differential equations with applications to subsonic, transonic, and supersonic flow past complex configurations, as well as aerodynamic shape optimization.
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Mykel Kochenderfer
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Computer Science
BioMykel Kochenderfer is Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. Prior to joining the faculty, he was at MIT Lincoln Laboratory where he worked on airspace modeling and aircraft collision avoidance, with his early work leading to the establishment of the ACAS X program. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh and B.S. and M.S. degrees in computer science from Stanford University. Prof. Kochenderfer is the director of the Stanford Intelligent Systems Laboratory (SISL), conducting research on advanced algorithms and analytical methods for the design of robust decision making systems. Of particular interest are systems for air traffic control, unmanned aircraft, and other aerospace applications where decisions must be made in uncertain, dynamic environments while maintaining safety and efficiency. Research at SISL focuses on efficient computational methods for deriving optimal decision strategies from high-dimensional, probabilistic problem representations. He is an author of "Decision Making under Uncertainty: Theory and Application" (2015), "Algorithms for Optimization" (2019), and "Algorithms for Decision Making" (2022), all from MIT Press. He is a third generation pilot.
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Ilan Kroo
Thomas V. Jones Professor in the School of Engineering
BioProfessor Kroo's research involves work in three general areas: multidisciplinary optimization and aircraft synthesis, unconventional aircraft, and low-speed aerodynamics. Current research in the field of aircraft synthesis, sponsored by NASA and industry, includes the development of a new computational architecture for aircraft design, and its integration with numerical optimization. Studies of unconventional configurations employ rapid turnaround analysis methods in the design of efficient subsonic and supersonic commercial aircraft. Recent research has included investigation of configurations such as joined wings, oblique wings, and tailless aircraft. Nonlinear low-speed aerodynamics studies have focused on vortex wake roll-up, refined computation of induced drag, the design of wing tips, and the aerodynamics of maneuvering aircraft.
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Karim Kuran
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2022
BioKarim Kuran is a Master of Science student in the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Karim has previously worked on ion thrusters and electric propulsion systems, specifically analyzing computational data modeling electrospray grid impingement to maximize thruster lifetime. He has since switched his interests to airborne vehicle design, autonomy, and entrepreneurship.
Karim balances his life with personal interests such as soccer, snowboarding, and weight training during his free time. He is also on the Stanford Men’s Club Soccer team and plays as a striker. -
Nicolas Lee
Lecturer
BioNicolas Lee is currently a Research Engineer in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, working primarily on asteroid resource characterization and CubeSat technologies. Previously, Nicolas was a Ph.D. student at Stanford studying meteoroid impact effects on spacecraft, and a W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies postdoctoral scholar in aerospace at Caltech, researching technologies for robotically assembled space telecopes, membrane structures for space solar power applications, and small satellite high voltage electronics.
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Sanjiva Lele
Edward C. Wells Professor of the School of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
BioProfessor Lele's research combines numerical simulations with modeling to study fundamental unsteady flow phemonema, turbulence, flow instabilities, and flow-generated sound. Recent projects include shock-turbulent boundary layer interactions, supersonic jet noise, wind turbine aeroacoustics, wind farm modeling, aircraft contrails, multi-material mixing and multi-phase flows involving cavitation. He is also interested in developing high-fidelity computational methods for engineering applications.
