E X P LO R AT I O N
I N N O VAT I O N
I M PA C T
AERO ENGR
This US Airforce illustration depicts a test vehicle during a hypersonic flight test / Photo courtesy of US Airforce
AE + Propulsion = Hypersonic
Aerospace Engineering at the University of
Virginia has world-class excellence in propulsion
research with a focus on hypersonics, supersonic
combustion, pollutant formation, and multi-phase
flow. In the last few years, the Aerospace
Research Laboratory directed the $9 million
National Center for Hypersonic Combined Cycle
Propulsion led by U.Va. Prof. Jim McDaniel with
co-investigators Professors Harsha Chelliah and
Chris Goyne. The experiments conducted at U.Va.
Professor Harsha Chelliah
revealed new fluid and combustion physics, which
were used to develop computational techniques throughout the United
States. Professor Chelliah also leads a new NSF-AFOR $1.5 million project
to better understand more details about turbulent flame structures in
these supersonic reacting flows.
U.Va. also spearheaded the Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Center for
Advanced Propulsion Systems, which sponsored projects by Eric Loth and
by Chelliah to examine motion of nano/micro-particles in jet engines to
improve robustness and reduce emissions of aircraft. Associated with
this emissions work, Chelliah has been selected by Downing College at
Cambridge University to be the 2016 Thomas Jefferson Visiting Fellow.
During his sabbatical leave, Chelliah will collaborate with Cambridge
University researchers on the development of chemical kinetic models
for computational simulations to support unprecedented low-emissions
of future gas turbine engines.
AE + Aircraft Design = National Championships
Prof. Jim McDaniel teaches a senior-level, two-semester,
capstone aircraft design sequence. Every year the class
enters a national aircraft design competition, defined and
administered by either NASA or the FAA. In the
previous 12 years of this competition, the U.Va.
designs have won four first-place and four
second-place awards, successfully
competing with both undergraduate
and even graduate teams from
the top-ranked aerospace
The MANTA is a design for a four-seat, all-electric general
programs across the
aviation airplane. It was submitted to the 2015 NASA
country.
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Design Challenge.
Aerospace Engineering (AE) at the University of
Virginia is a thriving program of undergraduates,
graduate students, and faculty with a
commitment to exploration, innovation, and
engineering excellence. Research strengths
include the Applied Research Laboratory, the
Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Center for Advanced
Propulsion, and projects in combustion and wind
energy. The focus on engineering excellence has
led to many national awards, scholarships and
fellowships, such as the AIAA Abe Zarem award
for one of our students and the University of
Cambridge Jefferson Award for one of our faculty.
With a new department chair for Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering, a plan for 2020 has been
established to build on these aerospace strengths
and enhance cross-cutting research, such as
cyber-physical drone platforms. Through this
combination, our department plans to increase
both the faculty and graduate student population
by 50% in the next five years.
photo courtesy of US Airforce
Eric Loth, Chair
Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering
Eric Loth, the new Chair of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the University of
Virginia, is a PhD graduate of the University of
Michigan. In 1990, Loth started as a faculty
member at the University of Illinois, where he
rose to the position of Professor, Willett Faculty
Scholar, and Associate Head of Aerospace
Engineering. In 2010, he joined the University of
Virginia and later became its first Rolls-Royce
Commonwealth Professor. Among many awards
and distinctions, Loth has been named a Fellow
of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
a Fellow of the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications, and a Fellow at
Magdalene College at Cambridge University.
Research by Loth and his students has resulted in
more than 300 publications on a wide variety of
topics including wind energy, unsteady
aerodynamics, supersonic propulsion, multiphase
flow, and micro-/nano-scale fluid dynamics.