School of Engineering
Showing 101-200 of 209 Results
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Samuel Low
Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Winter 2023
BioSamuel Low is a Ph.D. candidate in the Stanford Space Rendezvous Laboratory, advised by Professor Simone D'Amico. Sam graduated from Stanford with an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics (2023) and from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) with a B.Sc. in Engineering Product Development (2018). His broad interests are in the guidance, navigation, control and autonomy of distributed space systems, such as formations and swarm satellites. His research focus is on enabling precise and robust state estimation between distributed spacecraft, centered on sensor/data fusion with carrier phase differential GNSS, with immediate applications to flight missions such as the VISORS and SWARM-EX missions. He had worked previously in DSO National Laboratories, Singapore, on space mission design and on developing navigation algorithms for Singapore's first formation flying satellite mission. He received the DSO Postgraduate Fellowship (2021), the Tan Kah Kee Postgraduate Scholarship (2021), the DSO SOAR Scholarship (2017), and the Asian Leadership Program Scholarship (2015-2018) jointly awarded by SUTD and Zhejiang University. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, painting, and outdoor activities.
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Tara Yasmin Mina
Postdoctoral Scholar, Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioTara Mina obtains her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. She received her Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign in 2019 and her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University in 2017, with summa cum laude honors. For her doctoral thesis, Tara researches strategies to advance the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) signal capabilities. Her research focuses on secure, attack-resilient position, navigation, and timing as well as designing new spreading codes for the future GPS signals. She has also been involved with research for designing satellite-based navigation and timing to enable future lunar exploration missions.
As of August 2023, Tara has 22 research publications, including 7 published or accepted journal papers, and a coverpage magazine article. She has also won several awards for her graduate research, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, the Amelia Earhart Fellowship, and 4 Best Presentation of the Session awards. Outside of her research work, Tara has won 2 student teaching awards, including the Centennial Teaching Assistant Award and the AIAA Best Course Assistant Award. She also currently serves as the co-president of Stanford’s Engineering Students for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and has also won the Community Impact Award for her leadership, outreach, and volunteering efforts within the student group.
For the most up-to-date information, research work, and publications, please check out Tara's personal website: https://sites.google.com/view/tara-mina -
Jacob Troy Needels
Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Spring 2019
BioJacob Needels is a current Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. He holds a M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on computational fluid dynamics for high-speed flows, with an emphasis on nonequilibrium thermochemical models and uncertainty quantification for robust vehicle design. He works on development of the SU2 open-source software, particularly focused on implementation and validation of capabilities to model multi-species reacting gases.
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Joshua Ott
Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2021
Ph.D. Minor, Earth and Planetary SciencesBioJoshua is a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate in Aeronautics & Astronautics at Stanford University and is a recipient of the Stanford Graduate Fellowship (SGF) in Science & Engineering. He is currently serving on Active Duty in the United States Air Force through the DAWN-ED PhD fellowship. Joshua is a researcher in the Stanford Intelligent Systems Lab (SISL) where his research focuses on decision making under uncertainty for autonomous systems. Joshua has also conducted research in collaboration with SISL and NASA JPL related to the DARPA Subterranean Challenge.
Joshua earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020. During his time at UC Berkeley, Joshua's work focused on optimization methods for bioinspired design, machine learning for real time manufacturing control, and experimental multi-phase flow analysis. Joshua has also interned at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. -
Bradford Parkinson
Edward C. Wells Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus
BioProfessor Bradford Parkinson was the Chief Architect for GPS, and led the original advocacy for the system in 1973 as an Air Force Colonel. Gaining approval, he became the first Director of the GPS Joint Program Office and led the original development of spacecraft, Master Control Station and 8 types of User Equipment. He continued leadership of the Program through the extensive test validation Program, including being the Launch Commander for the first GPS satellite launches. This original deployment of GPS demonstrated comfortable margins against all PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing) requirements.
Earlier in his career, he was a key developer of a modernized AC-130 Gunship, introduction of which included 160 hours of combat missions. He was an instructor at the USAF Test Pilot School. In addition he led the Department of Astronautics and Computer Science at the US Air Force Academy. He retired from the US Air Force as a Colonel.
He was appointed a Professor at Stanford University in 1984, after six years of experience in industry. At Stanford University, he led the development of many innovative applications of GPS, including:
1.Commercial aircraft (Boeing 737) blind landing using GPS alone,
2.Fully automatic GPS control of Farm Tractors on a rough field to an accuracy of 2 inches,
3.Pioneering the augmentation to GPS (WAAS) that allows any user to achieve accuracies of 2 feet and very high levels of integrity assurance.
He has been the CEO of two companies, and serves on many boards. He is the editor/author of the AIAA Award winning 2 Volumes: “GPS Theory and Applications” and is author or coauthor of over 80 technical papers.
Among his many awards is the Draper Prize of the National Academy of Engineering, considered by some to be the “Engineering Nobel”. -
Akshata Patil
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2022
BioAkshata Patil is a master's student in the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Florida Tech in 2020. Her interests revolve around enhancing the reliability and security of perception and navigation systems used in unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous driving vehicles.
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Marco Pavone
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering and of Computer Science
BioDr. Marco Pavone is an Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, where he directs the Autonomous Systems Laboratory and the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. He is also a Distinguished Research Scientist at NVIDIA where he leads autonomous vehicle research. Before joining Stanford, he was a Research Technologist within the Robotics Section at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He received a Ph.D. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. His main research interests are in the development of methodologies for the analysis, design, and control of autonomous systems, with an emphasis on self-driving cars, autonomous aerospace vehicles, and future mobility systems. He is a recipient of a number of awards, including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, a National Science Foundation Early Career (CAREER) Award, a NASA Early Career Faculty Award, and an Early-Career Spotlight Award from the Robotics Science and Systems Foundation. He was identified by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) as one of America's 20 most highly promising investigators under the age of 40. His work has been recognized with best paper nominations or awards at a number of venues, including the European Conference on Computer Vision, the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the European Control Conference, the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, the Field and Service Robotics Conference, the Robotics: Science and Systems Conference, and the INFORMS Annual Meeting.
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Robert Phelts
Research Engineer
BioR. Eric Phelts is a research engineer in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. His research involves signal monitoring techniques and analysis for SBAS, GBAS, and ARAIM.
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J David Powell
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus
BioEDUCATION:
1960 - B.S. Mechanical Engineering, M.I.T.
1966 - M.S. Aeronautics & Astronautics, Stanford
1970 - Ph.D. Aeronautics & Astronautics, Stanford
EXPERIENCE:
1960-1961 - Engine Design and Testing Engineer at Outboard Marine Corp.
1961-1967 – Engineer at Lockheed in the field of Aerospace Guidance and Control
1967-1968 – Engineer at Analytical Mechanics Associates
1968-1970 – Engineer, Systems Control, Inc. Parameter ID of aircraft models from flight data, automatic generation of approach paths for Air Traffic Control. Attended Stanford University specializing in control systems.
1971 – 1998 – Member of the Stanford Faculty in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. His research has included spacecraft pointing, space tether dynamics and control, internal combustion engine control, the design of aerospace digital flight control systems, GPS-based attitude determination augmented with inertial sensors, and the use of GPS for air and land vehicle surveillance and navigation. He taught courses in aerospace control including radio and inertial navigation, optimization and digital implementations and is a coauthor of two of the leading control textbooks. He is also an author or coauthor on over 100 papers.
1998 – present – Emeritus faculty carrying out research in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford Univ. Recent focus of research is the use of GPS-based attitude determination augmented with inertial sensors, applications of the FAA’s WAAS for enhanced pilot displays, flight inspection of aircraft landing systems, and the use of WAAS and new displays to enable closer spacing of parallel runways.
SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
AIAA (Fellow), ASME (Fellow), SAE, IEEE, ION
CONSULTANT TO: (over past several years)
Seagull Technology
Sequoia Instruments
Engine Control and Monitoring
Transparent Networks
Pratt and Whitney (Technical Advisory Committee)
Sensor Platforms
OTHER RECENT ACTIVITIES
Co-Founder, CEO, and Director of GyroSat Corp. 1999 – 2000
Director of Sequoia Instruments, 2001 – 2005
Aircraft owner and licensed instrument pilot
National Research Council Panel member for the review of NASA airspace activities, 2003
Board of Directors, Mechanics Bank, Richmond, CA., 2003 – 2015
Board of Directors, ExactBid, Inc. 2014-present. -
Stephen Rock
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Emeritus
BioProfessor Rock's research interests include the application of advanced control and modeling techniques for robotic and vehicle systems (aerospace and underwater). He directs the Aerospace Robotics Laboratory in which students are involved in experimental programs designed to extend the state-of-the-art in robotic control. Areas of emphasis include planning and navigation techniques (GPS and vision-based) for autonomous vehicles; aerodynamic modeling and control for aggressive flight systems; underwater remotely-operated vehicle control; precision end-point control of manipulators in the presence of flexibility and uncertainty; and cooperative control of multiple manipulators and multiple robots. Professor Rock teaches several courses in dynamics and control.
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Maria Sakovsky
Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
BioMaria Sakovsky's work focuses on the use of shape adaptation to realize space structures with reconfigurable geometry, stiffness, and even non-mechanical performance (ex. electromagnetic, optical). Particular focus is placed on the mechanics of thin fiber reinforced composite structures, the interplay between composite material properties and structural geometry, as well as embedded functionality and actuation of lightweight structures. The work has led to applications in deployable space structures, reconfigurable antennas, and soft robotics.
Maria Sakovsky received her BSc in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto. Following this, she completed her MSc and PhD in Space Engineering at Caltech, where she developed a deployable satellite antenna based on origami concepts utilizing elastomer composites. She concurrently worked with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on developing cryogenically rated thin-​ply composite antennas for deep space missions. For her ongoing research on physically reconfigurable antennas, she was awarded the ETH Zürich postdoctoral fellowship as well as the Innovation Starting Grant. -
Steven Salah-Eddine
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2022
BioSteven Salah-Eddine is a Master of Science student in the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Steven is a research assistant in the Structures and Composites Laboratory at Stanford University, where he works under the guidance of his principal investigator, Professor Fu-Kuo Chang.
Steven is engaged in cutting-edge projects involving the development and optimization of multifunctional energy storage composite (MESC). His primary focus is on creating a scalable, integrable structural battery with built-in sensing capabilities. This innovative MESC battery is designed to replace single-purpose structural members, potentially reducing vehicle weight and increasing energy capacity for enhanced range performance. Such advancements are particularly crucial in developing robust Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (EVTOL) vehicle structures, where traditional EV systems often rely on redundant support systems to protect battery cells from heat, impact, and moisture.
Steven's research project targets the EVTOL market, exploring the application of MESC in commercial EVTOL body structures and determining the energy capacity needed for standard flights. His second initiative involves optimizing MESC specifications for a previously fabricated I-Beam, using MATLAB programing language for intricate design calculations and failure mode analysis. Beyond the lab, Steven's experience as an iPhone Product Design Engineering Intern at Apple has honed his skills in product design, adding to his expertise in design for manufacturability, finite element analysis, and materials science.
Steven balances his life with personal interests that include golfing, weight training, and running during his free time. -
Debbie Senesky
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioDebbie G. Senesky is an Associate Professor at Stanford University in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and the Electrical Engineering Department. In addition, she is the Principal Investigator of the EXtreme Environment Microsystems Laboratory (XLab). Her research interests include the development of nanomaterials for extreme harsh environments, high-temperature electronics for Venus exploration, and microgravity synthesis of nanomaterials. In the past, she has held positions at GE Sensing (formerly known as NovaSensor), GE Global Research Center, and Hewlett Packard. She received the B.S. degree (2001) in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California. She received the M.S. degree (2004) and Ph.D. degree (2007) in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Prof. Senesky is the Site Director of nano@stanford. She is currently the co-editor of two technical journals: IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems and Sensors. In recognition of her research, she received the Emerging Leader Abie Award from AnitaB.org in 2018, Early Faculty Career Award from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2012, Gabilan Faculty Fellowship Award in 2012, and Sloan Ph.D. Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2004.
Prof. Senesky's career path and research has been featured by Scientific American, Seeker, People Behind the Science podcast, The Future of Everything radio show, Space.com, and NPR's Tell Me More program. More information about Prof. Senesky can be found at https://xlab.stanford.edu and on Instagram (@astrodebs). -
Charles Shao
Affiliate, Stanford Center For Position, Navigation and Time (SCPNT)
BioA seasoned entrepreneur and senior executive with multiple start-up enterprises in Silicon Valley and China. As co-founder, vp engineering, CTO of Easyway Company Limited, design and implement a Chinese high-speed rail passenger transit service system. As a founding team member, start-up EPIN Technologies, Inc., ServGate Technologies, Inc., NetScreen Technologies, Inc. between 1996 ~ 2006.
Research fellow and deputy director, center for high-speed rail technology (CHRT), Tsinghua University. Managed R&D projects for China's high-speed rail system since 2006; Initiated “Introduction for High-Speed Rail Technologies” class at California State University, Bakersfield.
Venture partner of TEEC Angel Fund in Palo Alto. General partner of TSVC fund.
BSEE, MSEE, Lecturer/Assistant Professor at Tsinghua University following with visiting scholar at University of California San Diego during 1980 ~ 1993. First prize winner of Rail Technologies Awards by China Railway Society. -
Lauren Simitz
Ph.D. Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Autumn 2021
Masters Student in Aeronautics and Astronautics, admitted Winter 2022BioHi there! I'm an aerospace engineer, chemist, and geoscientist striving to both protect our world and advance technologies to explore new ones. Sustainability and DEI are just as strong of passions at the core of my work, in and outside of the space sector.
More specifically, my work in industry (Chevron, SpaceX, Benchmark) and academic research (Northwestern - flowable batteries, Stanford - clean combustion) catalyzed my passion for advancing sustainable, reliable fuel and energy systems at the micro- and macro-scale. I have interests in propulsion (chemical, air-breathing) and energy conversion processes like combustion. As a Stanford PhD candidate in the Fluids in Complex Environments (Ihme) lab, I employ the intersection of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and kinetics to probe underlying phenomena in these areas.
I welcome messages and am always seeking collaborations with other scientists/groups. I am also happy to answer any questions about graduate school, fellowships, aerospace/chemical engineering/geoscience, and SpaceX, or put you in touch with my network, if that is helpful. -
Stephen Tsai
Professor (Research) of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Emeritus
BioProfessor Tsai's research interest is in the development of design methodology of composite materials and structures. As an emerging technology, composite materials offer unique performances for structures that combine light weight with durability. Keys to the successful utilization of composite materials are predictability in performance and cost effective design of anisotropic, laminated structures. Current emphasis is placed on the understanding of failure modes, and computer simulation for design and cost estimation.
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Todd Walter
Professor (Research) of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHigh integrity satellite navigation for guiding aircraft, including satellite based augmentation systems (SBAS) and advanced receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (ARAIM).
