KUAE Newsletter Fall 2018 by aerohawk

THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

KUAE 2018

FALL 2018

75 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE BY DESIGN “MAMBA” DESIGN IS 1 OF 10 WINNERS IN PHASE 1 OF BOEING’S GOFLY COMPETITION STUDENTS SEEK TO LAUNCH MINI-SATELLITE THROUGH NASA CUBESAT INITIATIVE DR. SAEED FAROKHI RECEIVES 2017 CHANCELLORS CLUB TEACHING PROFESSORSHIP

CONTENT 6 13 16 27 34 Students

Alumni

Faculty

Department

Funding Our Future

EDITOR

PHOTOGRAPHY

RICHARD HALE

ASPEN GRENDER CODY HOWARD

DESIGN ASPEN GRENDER

PRINTING FORMGRAPHICS, LAWRENCE, KANSAS

KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 2

WELCOME FROM OUR CHAIR

5 years of Excellence by Design. This is the legacy of The University of Kansas Department of Aerospace Engineering which we celebrate this academic year. From the first KU undergraduate design, build, fly activity in 1911, to our latest string of 27 AIAA design wins in the last six years, our students have been enamored with reaching for the skies. We continue to support a hands-on approach to learning, with courses taught by experienced, research-active professors. We enter the year with still further growth, resulting in the highest undergraduate enrollment in 30 years and near-record high graduate enrollment. Since 2014 we have seen a staggering 63% growth in our undergraduate population and a 47% increase in PhD enrollment. That growth has been matched with increased entry qualifications, and an increased commitment to retention strategies. Our incoming and outgoing students continue to be of the highest quality. These students also continue to demonstrate excellence in national and international design competitions. For example, a team of nine students is one of ten winners in Phase I of the GoFly Prize, an international aviation competition sponsored by Boeing. I reflected in the prior Newsletter about the close faculty interaction with undergraduates in experiential learning activities, and our commitment to exploring new ways to expand student research opportunities. Our extensive suborbital remote sensing activities have effectively embedded experiential learning into seventeen courses within our

curriculum, and provided laboratory experiences enabling student engagement and effective professional development. However, a healthy and vibrant Aerospace Engineering program requires experiential research opportunities for diverse students in both aeronautics and astronautics, and the reality is that the breadth of opportunities in space systems have lagged those in aircraft systems. Student retention for those on the space systems track (or Astrohawks in our vernacular) also lags. The time is right to leverage our strengths in suborbital remote sensing to expand opportunities for orbital remote sensing with small satellites, ensuring we recruit and retain the best students to KU Engineering. KUAE wishes to see a sustained student program of designing, fabricating, ground testing, launching and operating small satellites for education and research opportunities, and you will read herein about our first steps in renovating laboratories and defining faculty hires to enable this vision. Investments in faculty, facilities, equipment and students will provide a state-ofthe-art infrastructure for education and research leading to: a) a vibrant training ground for aerospace engineers with experience in space systems; b) innovations in payloads, aerospace systems, and industry relevant research; c) scientific discovery in other disciplines by enabling orbital remote sensing; and d) practiced, experienced engineering leaders prepared for the workforce. KUAE is reaching for the stars. In this newsletter, you will learn more about student design teams

and awards; student initiatives for aircraft and spacecraft; select faculty research programs; facilities improvements; and other department activities. I would like to thank our alumni for their continued support, without which we would be unable to provide such immersive, experiential learning opportunities for our students. As our student body grows so must our commitment to their success. I also thank the Advisory Board, faculty, staff and students for maintaining such a productive and collegial department. I look forward to the coming years as we help shape the future of aerospace engineering. Rock Chalk! Richard Hale C.E. and M.J. Spahr Professor and Chair Aerospace Engineering

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63%

growth in BS enrollment since 2014

50% 47%

growth in GTA support since 2012

growth in PhD enrollment since 2012

63% 27 75

growth in tenure-track faculty since 2014 AIAA design awards since 2012 years of excellence by design

STUDENTS KUAE team selected as one of 10 winners in Phase 1 of Boeing’s GoFly Prize by Cody Howard edited by Aspen Grender

KU Aerospace team is one of 10 winners in Phase I of the GoFly Prize, an international aviation competition sponsored by Boeing. The nine-person “Mamba” team — led by Lauren Schumacher, doctoral student from Rolla, Missouri, and advised by Aerospace Engineering Professor Ron Barrett-Gonzalez — competed against more than 160 teams in 33 countries. Other Mamba team members were Patrick McNamee, Nicholas Donald Werner, Joshua Donald Mudd, John Haug, Dalton Prins, Martin Mendoza and Ankur Patil. Teams in the competition were tasked with designing a safe and small “personal flying” device capable of flying 20 miles while carrying a single person. “What we are seeking is an ‘everyone’ personal flying device, capable of being flown by anyone anywhere,” Boeing said in announcing the competition. “It should be a device for all: young and old, city-dweller and country-dweller, expert and novice.” Members of the KU team started work in November and decided to make safety the main thrust of their vehicle design. The result: A multi-engine “hexcopter” featuring a roll cage for the pilot, shrouded rotors for lift and tail rotors behind the pilot. In profile, the design looks like a snake skull — thus the “Mamba” designation. Schumacher, who is also a SELF Graduate Fellow, said the team worked through a series of questions to

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arrive at the design. “Did we want to make it less expensive and market to the masses?” she said. “For us, the emphasis was safety — one crash can kill a product line.” The GoFly competition proved a new challenge in several respects — both in adapting to more helicopter-style design, but also because the competition was wider: Some of the other finalist teams were sponsoredby universities, but others were staffed with experienced engineers and project managers from established aerospace companies. “Normally the Jayhawks go play in the NCAA Tournament,” Barrett-Gonzalez said. “Can you imagine if there was a grand basketball tournament open to any team anywhere — pro teams, national teams, NAIA teams? This is like that.” Schumacher added: “All of us are students of fixed-wing aircraft design. Rotorcraft is very new to us. It was quite the learning experience.” And an innovative one: The team managed to file a patent for a duct-noise suppression technique developed during the design process. It’s an innovation that may have applications beyond the aviation industry, Barrett-Gonzalez said. “The real market is probably in industrial air movers,” he said. “We figured out how to quiet them down a lot.” The KU team won $20,000 for being one of the

10 Phase I winners. Now it moves onto Phase II — in which the teams must prove that a prototype of their design can take off and land. That submission is due in February. That will narrow the field to four competitors; those winners will attempt to build a fully operational aircraft to compete in a “fly-off” in October 2019. The winner will receive a $1 million prize. “We’re confident we stand a very good chance of making the next round,” Barrett-Gonzalez said. Some team members have now graduated, Schumacher said, so the team is looking for new members to help with the next phase of GoFly competition. “We’re really looking to fill out the ranks,” she said. “It’s a great feeling,” she added. “Obviously we put a lot of hard work in this design. Knowing it’s competitive, being able to represent KU as a group of students has been really rewarding.”

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STUDENTS

Students seek to launch mini-satellite through NASA program by Cody Howard edited by Aspen Grender

adison Sargent has always had an eye on the stars. Now she may achieve her goal of reaching out to them before she even graduates from college. Sargent, a KUAE senior, is leading an effort to put a tiny satellite from Kansas into space — part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) that launches small payloads beyond Earth’s atmosphere. She’s working with Marco Villa, a KU graduate who works in the satellite industry, to bring the project to fruition. The initial proposal has been approved, and now if students meet technical milestones and NASA approves the launch Window, the Kansas-designed satellite could be launched to space in 2019, depending on launch availability. “Madison and the nano-satellite team are tackling one of the most complex tasks they will ever face,” said Villa, CEO of Tyvak International, an aerospace company based in Italy. He received his master’s degree in aerospace engineering from KU in 2002, followed by a doctorate in

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2005. “Building and operating a satellite that has to perform a specific mission is not an easy challenge,” Villa added, “but for sure is one of the most rewarding ones.” Villa knows whereof he speaks: While a student at KU, he led one of the university’s first efforts to launch a satellite under the CubeSat program, which launches “nano-satellites” from universities and other institutions around the country. Plans called for the satellite to be launched from Kazakhstan, aboard a Russian rocket. “We got close in 2006,” he said, “but a rocket failure took away that opportunity.” It was revisiting Villa’s earlier work that helped get the current effort underway, said Sargent. “I contacted Marco about a year ago or so,” she said. “When he was here, he worked on CubeSats as part of his master’s-Ph.D. thesis. He now runs Tyvak nanosatellites, so I think he wanted to reinvigorate what was here when he was here and give students the ability to do hands-on work.” One other reason to pursue the project? Kansas is one of a dwindling number of states that has not launched a satellite under the NASA CSLI program. “It is absolutely unbearable to be one of the few states in the U.S. and in the world that does not have a satellite in space,” Villa said. In the future, he said, “Kansas will discover that many more of its indigenous industries will be able to reap the benefits by leveraging on space assets” — say, by measuring crops more precisely or predicting when farm acreage is undergoing stressful conditions that could result in crop failure. It’s a big project, but the proposed satellites are small. According to NASA, CubeSats are built in units of 10-by-10-by-11 centimeters — payloads can be up to six units in size, which would weigh about 26.5 pounds. The KUAE group proposed a six-unit-sized payload to carry four different instruments: a cosmic ray detector; a device to measure ice sheet thickness at the South Pole, and an “astrobiology collaboration” with KU biologists that would carry bacteria and fungi for further study in partnership with K-12 students. A fourth instrument,

an “energetic particle detector,” is sponsored by Fundamental Technologies, a Lawrence-based company that works on space-related projects. Putting together the project is hard work, Villa said, but worth it: Sargent and other students on the project “will also learn that details are what matter and that details make the difference between success and a spectacular failure.” He added: “In developing a spacecraft, you can never settle for mediocrity. Space does not forgive.” “Projects like this, being able to connect with alumni like Marco who will donate their time and even say, ‘My company will donate a system as long as we know that you’re serious about this, and that you know everyone is onboard.’ That’s really big, and I don’t think that that would necessarily be the case everywhere,” Sargent said. Villa, meanwhile, sees his involvement as a form of paying back the benefits he received from his own KU experience. “I can trace back all the successes in my career to the experience I made while studying and working at KU,” he said. “In the five years I spent in Lawrence, I developed a lot of the skills and knowledge I am still using to date in my daily efforts. I also gained tremendously from the ‘human’ aspect that plays a part in being a team player and ultimately a leader.” And Sargent, he said, “has all the right stuff to be a great leader. Still a long way ahead, but I have rarely met someone with more passion and drive.” Sargent, meanwhile, hopes that drive takes her to work for NASA. While she appreciates the growing commercial side of the space industry, she said, “NASA stays true to what it is to explore space and really focus on the science. They’ve always been there for that.” First thing’s first, though: Getting a CubeSat into space.

Jayhawk Aero Design places in Design Build Fly competition

he Jayhawk Aero Design student group, founded in 2016 and led by senior Joseph Block, worked throughout last year to compete in the 2017 AIAA Design Build Fly (DBF) competition in Wichita, KS. The group submitted a written proposal, created a 60-page design report, and created an aircraft to fly at the competition. In Wichita, the student design flew smoothly and completed all three flight missions and a ground mission successfully. With over 130 proposals having been submitted, the team placed 31st overall in the DBF competition, a success in Jayhawk Aero Design’s first year as a KU student organization, consisting mostly of juniors at the time. This year, the group plans to compete in the SAE Aero Design West competition as well. With help from Dr. Ron Barrett, his Aircraft Design Laboratory I (AE 721) class will focus on the design and build of an aircraft for the SAE Aero Design competition, in addition to having an undergraduate team preparing for this year’s AIAA DBF competition. “We’re all very excited about the potential of this group as well as the direction that we’re heading in,” says Block. Jayhawk Aero Design encourages interested individuals to reach out directly with any questions or comments to jayhawkaerodesign@gmail.com. KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 9

STUDENTS

A Ram “Bella” Kim receives Carlin GTA Award and lands Iowa State faculty position

018 KUAE graduate Dr. Bella Kim was the recipient of the Carlin Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for the 2017-18 academic year, one of the first recipients from the KU School of Engineering in over fifteen years. The award, which recognizes excellence in teaching by graduate students at the University of Kansas, was presented at the 2018 Graduate Student Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 12. Adding another major achievement to her year, Kim accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University, effective in fall 2018. “The faculty position has been my dream job since I started my PhD program,” said Kim. I am so pleased to obtain the offer from Iowa State University as an Assistant Professor, and I want to contribute as a scholar and to diversity in Aerospace Engineering.” Her research will be multi-disciplinary, she says, and will focus on the combination of robotics and aviation, along with unmanned aerial systems. On May 11, 2018, Kim delivered a presentation titled “Going from Graduate Student to Faculty Member: What You Need to Know” to KU Engineering staff and graduate students, which explored topics related to the faculty hiring process, including interview preparation and techniques, and steps to take after the interview.

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octoral student Meihua Zhang was chosen as a recipient of the Amelia Earhart Fellowship for the 2018-2019 academic year. “The Amelia Earhart fellowship is a great encouragement for me not only financially but also mentally,” says Zhang. “It gives me and other international females extra motivation to dedicate ourselves in the research of aerospace engineering.”

Meihua Zhang receives 2018-19 Amelia Earhart Fellowship

Zonta International established the Amelia Earhart Fellowship in 1938, in honor of the legendary pilot, to promote access to resources and equality in decision-making positions for women. In an effort to carry out that mission, each year 30 talented women pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sciences or aerospace-related engineering from around the globe are chosen to receive the $10,000 Fellowship.

Joe Vincent wins 5th place in Engineering Research Showcase Spring 2018 graduate Joe Vincent came in at 5th place in the KU Engineering Research Showcase with his research supporting CReSIS. He investigated the feasibility of using a small unmanned aircraft (KU’s G1X) to perform polar remote sensing missions. Polar remote sensing is conventionally done with an array of antennas, however, the smaller size of the G1X limits the number of sensing antennas to one. To overcome this limitation, it may be possible to construct a synthetic aperture array by flying the aircraft in parallel flight lines. His research focused on simulating the electromagnetic radiation pattern under these operating conditions to determine if performance benchmarks were likely to be met. It was found that, without the use of phase shifting in post-processing, flight disturbances were too large to accurately construct the synthetic aperture needed to characterize the ice-bedrock interface.

KUAE awards sweep at Engineering Recognition Ceremonies KUAE graduates Cody Hill and Taylor George were chosen as the recipients of the prestigious Sammie and Carl Locke Award for the Outstanding Graduating Senior in the School of Engineering, Hill in Fall 2017, and George in Spring 2018.

Taylor George earns Self Graduating Senior Fellowship 2018 KUAE graduate, and returning graduate student, Taylor George, is the recipient of the Madison and Lila Self Graduating Senior Fellowship, which recognizes outstanding graduating undergraduate seniors from KU “who are judged to possess the potential to make significant contributions to society that are beyond the bounds of normal expectations.” The Fellowship provides both scholarship funding and an appropriate level of support for leadership and career development programming for the recipients, in the form of a $10,000 award during the first year of graduate studies.

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ALUMNI Loral O’Hara becomes new NASA astronaut

ven as a kid, Loral O’Hara wanted to explore. The Earth. The sea. The stars. “I was never really content with the idea of working in an office every day,” she says. After earning a degree at KU in 2005, O’Hara went on to graduate work at Purdue and took on several engineering assignments. Most recently, she developed subsea projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. She earned a private pilot’s license and certifications as a wilderness first responder and an EMT. When she first applied to NASA she was still too young to meet basic requirements as an astronaut. That changed last year, and she finally received the call from NASA that she’d been selected as a 2017 astronaut candidate. O’Hara credits KU with helping her on the road to the stars. Her professors helped her earn an internship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the following year the Kansas Space Grant Consortium

funded her attendance at the NASA Academy. These programs, she says, gave her “an appreciation for the technical, political, and social challenges associated with space exploration.” Even now, her training doesn’t include much time in the office. Instead, she’s flying T-38 trainer jets and learning a new language. “That’s the most surprising aspect of my training – how much I enjoy learning to speak Russian,” she says. “I’m excited to work with our Russian colleagues down the road.” A flight assignment is still a few years out. It could be a stay at the International Space Station, a trip to the moon, or exploring deeper space. “Right now I’m just focused on acquiring a broad range of skills that would be applicable to any expedition. Beyond that, I would be excited for any mission assignment.” For Loral O’Hara, the sky isn’t the limit. Reprinted with edits, with permission from the 2018 Chancellor’s Report Photo courtesy of NASA.

KU Aerospace Engineering runs in the family

or the Rech family, a love for aerospace engineering has been passed on to the next generation. Steve and Amy (Allen) Rech both graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from KU in 1991. And now their daughter, Jacquelyn Rech, a junior, is bringing her passion for flight to KUAE as a second-generation Jayhawk. “I have always been inspired by my parents to go into this field,” says Jacquelyn. “It’s nice to have someone so close that went through the same experiences and challenges.” And her parents agree. “We are very proud of both of our daughters for pursuing degrees through KU Engineering,” they said. “We do take some of the blame for their decisions since we have been bringing them to Lawrence since they

were in diapers.”

The Rech family has lived in Wichita, Kansas for the past 18 years. Both Steve and Amy have worked for Raytheon/Beechcraft. Steve also has experience with Boeing and the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Amy has contracted for Boeing and Raytheon/Beechcraft. They have two other children, Emmett, who is a junior at Andover Central High School, and Jacquelyn’s twin sister, Sandy, who is majoring in Interdisciplinary Engineering with biology at KU. Jacquelyn has dreams of pursuing a career in astronautics, potentially with NASA. “The jury is still out,” Steve and Amy say, “on whether Emmett will follow the KU Engineering path too.” KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 13

ALUMNI

John Valasek inducted into KUAE Honor Roll

t the 24th Annual Aerospace Engineering Awards Banquet on April 6, John Valasek was recognized as the 2017-18 inductee into the KU Aerospace Engineering Honor Roll. After receiving his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Valasek earned both his M.S., in 1990, and Ph.D., in 1995, in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kansas. He has been actively conducting flight mechanics and controls research of manned and unmanned air vehicles in both industry and academia for 32 years, previously as a flight control engineer for the Northrop Corporation, Aircraft Division. He is a professor and director of the Vehicles & Control Laboratory in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, and his research is currently focused on bridging the gap between traditional computer science topics and aerospace engineering topics.

Valasek is a patent holder and leading developer of flight control systems for autonomous air refueling of unmanned air vehicles, and in 2017, he was selected as a 2017 AIAA Fellow. He has also made contributions to the flight control of hypersonic air vehicles, planetary entry vehicles, morphing aircraft, and cockpit systems and displays for general aviation flight safety.

Robert A. Stuever receives 2018 AIAA Sustained Service Award

obert A. Stuever was selected as one of three recipients of the 2018 AIAA Sustained Service Award for his â&#x20AC;&#x153;sustained service to the Institute at both the national and section levels with a variety of roles and responsibilities.â&#x20AC;? The Sustained Service Award recognizes AIAA members who have shown continuing interest to the Institute by making significant and sustained contributions over a period of time, typically 10 years or more.

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SAVE THE DATE

KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

REUNION

(1944 - 2019) FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 RECEPTION SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2019 BANQUET & ADVISORY BOARD

FACULTY KU CReSIS deploys to Antarctica for NASA Operation Ice Bridge Mission

his past winter, the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheet (CReSIS) at the University of Kansas was again a leader in NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Operation Ice Bridge (OIB) mission. CReSIS, which includes several faculty and staff from KUAE, has been participating in OIB since 2009. For this mission, the team installed their new ultra-wideband (UWB) depth sounding radar on a Basler BT-67. During the mission, the team had 16 flight days at a total of 108 flight hours, and they collected 37 TB of raw ice data. This mission was highly visible and a huge successâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in part to the dedication and standard of excellence of the KU team. As late as June 2017, a mere five months prior to the deployment, the aircraft did not exist and the mission had not yet been green-lit by NASA. Despite this, the AE and EE teams continued to prepare the instrumentation for the possible deployment. These activities were managed in addition to the NASA OIB DC-8 mission they were already scheduled to support. Installation of the antenna array took place in Oshkosh, WI between September and October 2017 while the DC-3 was still being converted to a Basler BT-67. Simultaneous integration of custom out-of-moldline sensors before completion of the host aircraft was a first for the KU team, but went smoothly due to the outstanding cooperation and support of Basler Turbo Conversions. The installation efforts were led by AE Professor and Department Chair Rick Hale, as well as Composites Lab Supervisor

Jim Rood. Design and fabrication of the array fairing and structures was supported by multiple AE graduate and undergraduate students. The final certification flight for the aircraft was conducted on Oct. 20, 2017, and only

three weeks later the vehicle was headed south to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The field team consisted of six members, including NASA project manager John Woods, and Chris Larsen of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The on-ice KU CReSIS team consisted of AE Assistant Professor Emily Arnold, AE composites lab supervisor Jim Rood, KU EECS Professor and CReSIS Interim Director Carl Leuschen, and EECS graduate research assistant Jordan Sprick. After a 30 transit to New Zealand, there was a five day weather delay before the team was able to fly to Antarctica on a Boeing 757. Upon arriving, the team worked non-stop installing the instrumentation on the aircraft, as they were all shipped separately rather than transported with the aircraft. Jim Rood and Dr. Emily Arnold headed up the antenna fairing install, which was completed on the ice runway in below freezing temperatures. The team worked from their own hangar-tent

at the airfield, about 3 miles outside of McMurdo base. On flight days, and as a result of precise route planning, the team would often tackle several full or partial missions in a single flight day. These impressive multi-mission days were a first for OIB. Multiple

flights included travel through the Transantarctic Mountains, where the team flew less than 1000 ft. above mountain tops, and through valleys where the sides of cliffs were only a few thousand feet from the wingtip. Originally, the team was supposed to spend a week at the South Pole station to complete two required flights, but due to concerns about leaving the aircraft down at the pole for a week, the pilots suggested two day trips

instead, refueling at the pole and flying back. They strategically combined missions that would allow them to refuel at Shackleton Field Camp, a remote camp in the Transantarctic Mountains, to extend mission capabilities. While their arrival back in the U.S. was estimated to occur after New Year in 2018, the team made it home early, and just in time for the holidays, on Dec. 22, 2017.

Flight Systems Team advances UAS autonomy and collaborative control

he Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kansas has a long history of designing, manufacturing, and flight testing unmanned aerial systems (UASs) dating back to 1999. The Flight Systems Team (FST) was founded in 2009 to support research in the KU Center for Remote Sensing of Ice sheets (CReSIS), and has since supported several CReSIS and KU Information and Telecommunication Technology (ITTC) research projects. KUAE and FST own a fleet of UASs including platforms ranging from 9 to 86 lbs. Our team was granted a blanket certification of authorization (COA) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for UAS flight test activities (MTOW<55 lb.) in class G airspace below 1000 ft. (AGL). More than one thousand successful autonomous flight tests have been performed using multiple UASs at: North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) camp; Russell Glacier, Kangerlussuaq, Greenland; Sub-glacial Lake Whillans (SLW) Antarctica; Pegasus Airfield, Antarctica; United States Army installation at Fort Riley, KS; Dugway U.S. Army Proving Ground, UT; and several sites in or near Lawrence, KS.

rithms in real-world scenarios but also allowed us to find many new research motivations that previously were either ignored or neglected. Our team has successfully developed a broad range of advanced nonlinear controllers for different classes of UASs including nonlinear Hâ&#x2C6;&#x17E; and nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC). We were the first team to fully develop a robust nonlinear model predictive controller (RNMPC). Previously, model predictive controllers were either used for guidance purposes only, or did not have robustness, and the majority of them were linear. Constructed on the NMPC platform, a new morphing collision avoidance concept for UASs was developed and successfully flight tested. In addition to federally funded research, we have had several collaborative research activities on flight dynamics and control of UASs with industrial partners including Microsoft Research, Lockheed Martin Skunk-Works, and DARCorporation.

Since 2013 and through a close collabration with applied mathematicians, a scalable swarm algorithm is developed to navigate multi-agent UASs in unstructured environments. We have thus far completed several successful collaborative UAS flight tests using two large fixed-wing aircraft. The ability to validate the developed algorithms not only helped us assess the performance of GNC algoKU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 17

FACULTY

Saeed Farokhi awarded 2017 Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship

r. Saeed Farokhi was one of five professors from KU to earn the prestigious Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship in 2017. Recipients, chosen for their excellence as educators, will receive an annual $10,000 honorarium for each of the next five years Students and colleagues agree: Saeed Farokhi is a complete package, skilled in teaching, mentoring, service and research in the field of aerospace engineering. He has held a high standard for education throughout his 30 years as a professor at KU, and the Chancellors Club Teaching Professorship is the latest recognition among many he has received in his career. Under Farokhi’s guidance, KU

students have surpassed the per-

formance of those from other prestigious engineering programs around the country in American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics team engine design competitions, ranking KU Aerospace Engineering highest among U.S. universities. “Dr. Farokhi values teaching, advising and interacting with students as his top priority,” said Dennis Lane, N.T. Veatch Distinguished Professor in the KU School of Engineering. “He is always willing to give the extra time and effort to aid both undergraduate and graduate students with their academic endeavors.”

Z.J. Wang receives Miller Professional Research Award

Reprinted with edits, with permission from KU Endowment

r. Z.J. Wang received the Miller Professional Research Award at the 2018 Engineering Recognition Ceremony. The Award recognizes research carried out at the University of Kansas for the solution of a real engineering problem.

research, and the impact of his research on the field and KU’s visibility. He has served as PI on multiple research awards totaling over $2.09M as a single PI, and as Co-PI on multiple research awards totaling over $512K.

Dr. Wang’s research and scholarship productivity is measured by the size and scope of his funded research programs (as PI and Co-PI), the number of sponsors, the sustained level of funding, the number of graduate students funded through his

Since joining KU five years ago, Dr. Wang has graduated 3 PhD students and is currently advising another 5 PhD students. He has published 27 journal papers and 36 peer-reviewed conference proceedings.

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KANSAS SELECTED FOR FAA UAS INTEGRATION PILOT PROGRAM

State of Kansas team, which includes the Kansas Department of Transportation, KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University, has been selected for one of the 10 IPP grants announced in May. The goal is to have the IPP teams help “stretch the boundaries” of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) operations within the National Airspace System (NAS), by demonstrating safe operations for flights which are currently heavily restricted or not allowed altogether.

traffic—and practical aides like a “daisy-chain” of observers on the ground using binoculars and cell phones. However, in the long run, the hope is to fly one or more fixed-wing UAS with various sense and avoid technologies and some level of flight control autonomy on board. A number of sense and avoid systems are available commercially and others are under development at KU, including visual pattern recognition systems and miniature radar, both of which have flown on KUAE UAS.

The Kansas team has been directed to focus on “linear long-line infrastructure inspections” (L3I2) and “precision agriculture”. Key to these types of operation is the ability to fly safely beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) with respect to the pilot in command. A pilot or autopilot in control of a UAS BVLOS must be able to detect other aircraft as well as identify “impact targets” on the ground—both people and property. In FAA-speak, the UAS must “sense and avoid” to convince the FAA that UAS operations are always “well-clear” of other traffic in the NAS. The additional assurance—which is not levied on aircraft with human pilots—is that a UAS will not do unacceptable harm to people and property on the ground. How much harm is acceptable is one of the issues that IPP teams and the FAA hope to determine. For the time being, the KU team, led by Professors Mark Ewing and Shawn Keshmiri, has been assigned the role of demonstrating railroad infrastructure inspections. Initially the team will partner with Pulse Aerospace, a Lawrence company founded by AE graduates, Lance Holly and Bill Donovan, to fly visual and LIDAR sensors aboard a GPS-guided Vapor 55 UAS helicopter. These BVLOS flights will have humans establishing well-clear situational awareness, aided by standard aviation aids like ADS-B—which identifies most airborne

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FACULTY

PUBLICATIONS

Aguiar, A. R., Breviglieri, C., dos Santos, T., Azevedo, J.L.F., & Wang, Z. J. (2017). High-Order Meshes for Flow Simulations with a Spectral Difference Method. In AIAA-2017-4294. (Peer Reviewed) Alhawwary M. and Wang, Z.J., Fourier analysis and evaluation of DG, FD and compact difference methods for conservation laws, Journal of Computational Physics, Volume 373, 15 November 2018, Pages 835-862. Arnold, E. J., Rodriguez-Morales, F., Paden, J., Leuschen, C., Keshmiri, S., Yan, S., Ewing, M., Hale, R., Mahmood, A., Blevins, A., Mishra, A., Karidi, T., Miller, B., & Sonntag, J. (2018). HF/VHF Radar Sounding of Ice from Manned and Unmanned Airborne Platforms. Geosciences, 8(5), 22. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8050182 (Peer Reviewed) Arnold, E., Ewing, M., Hale, R., Keshmiri, S., Leuschen, C., Li, J., Paden, J., & Rodriguez-Morales, F. (2018). Radar Sounder Platforms and Sensors at CReSIS. In 2018 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. (Invited) (Peer Reviewed) Barton, K., and C. A. McLaughlin, “Long Short-Term Memory Neural Networks for the Prediction of Localized Atmospheric Density for Orbit Determination,” AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, AAS 18-394, Snowbird, UT, August 19-23, 2018. Bhaskaran, R., Jia, F., Laskowski, G. M., Wang, Z. J., & Paliath, U. (2017). Towards High-Order Large Eddy Simulation of Aero-Thermal Flows for Turbomachinery Applications. In ASME Turbo Expo 2017. (Peer Reviewed) Blunt, S., Allen, C., Arnold, E., Hale, R., Hui, R., Keshmiri, S., Leuschen, C., Li, J., Paden, J., Rodriguez-Morales, F., Salandrino, A., & Stiles, J. (2017). Radar Research at the University of Kansas. In SPIE Defense + Security Symposium (10.1117/12.2268911 ed., Vol. 1018817). (Invited) (Peer Reviewed) Chandra, Y., Keshmiri, S., Taghavi, R. and Farokhi, S., (in review). “Propeller Slipstream Interaction with Tail on a DG808 Unmanned Aerial System,” Paper submitted to Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 2018. Cheng, H., Liu, C., Li, J., Liu, B., Zheng, Z. C., Zou, X., Kang, L., & Fang, Y. (2017). Experimental Study of Aeolian Sand Ripples in a Wind Tunnel. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43(1), 312-321. (Peer Reviewed) Choi, D., & Langley, P. (2018). Evolution of the Icarus KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 20

Cognitive Architecture. Cognitive Systems Research, 48, 25-38. (Peer Reviewed) Choi, D., Langley, P., & To, S. T. Creating and Using Tools in a Hybrid Cognitive Architecture. In Proceedings of the AAAI 2018 Spring Symposium on Integrating Representation, Reasoning, Learning, and Execution for Goal Directed Autonomy, Palo Alto, CA. (Peer Reviewed) Duan, Z., & Wang, Z. J. (2017). A High Order FR/CPR Method for Overset Strand and Cartesian Meshes and Moving Boundaries. In AIAA-2017-3094. (Peer Reviewed) F. Jia, J. Ims, Z.J. Wang, J. Kopriva, G.M. Laskowski, An Evaluation of a Commercial and a High Order FR/ CPR Flow Solvers for Industrial Large Eddy Simulation (AIAA 2018-0827), 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 2018, 10.2514/6.2018-0827. Farokhi, S. (in press). Future Energy Sources and Propulsion Systems: in Sustainable Aviation. (Peer Reviewed) Farokhi, S., Taghavi, R. and Keshmiri, S., “Systems, Methods and Devices for Fluid Data Sensing,” U.S. Patent Number 10,018,648, issued on July 10, 2018. Flanagan, H., Hagerott, S. G., & Chao, H. (2018). Model Based Roll Controller Tuning and Analysis for Small UAS in Turbulent Environments. In International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems. (Peer Reviewed) Flesberg, S., Taghavi, R. and Farokhi, S., “Mixing Enhancement in a Scramjet Combustor Using Fuel Jet Injection Swirl,” Paper to be presented at the 2018 AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum and Exposition, Orlando, Florida, 17-19 September, 2018. Garcia, G. A., Keshmiri, S., & Shukla, D. (2017). Nonlinear control based on H-infinity theory for autonomous aerial vehicle. In Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2017 International Conference on (pp. 336–345). Garcia, G. A., Kim, A Ram, Jackson, E., Keshmiri, S. S., & Shukla, D. (2017). Modeling and flight control of a commercial nano quadrotor. In Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2017 International Conference on (pp. 524–532). Gowravaram, S., Flanagan, H., Tian, P., & Chao, H. (2018). Prescribed Fire Monitoring Using KHawk Un-

manned Aircraft Systems. In AIAA Infotech Conference. In AIAA 2018-1491. (Peer Reviewed) Gowravaram, S., Tian, P., Flanagan, H. P., Goyer, J., & Chao, H. (2018). UAS-based Multispectral Remote Sensing and NDVI Calculation for Post Disaster Assessment. In International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems. (Peer Reviewed) Ims, J. & Wang, Z.J., Automated low-order to high-order mesh conversion, Engineering with Computers (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00366-018-0602-x J. Shi, H. Yan, Z.J. Wang, An Algebraic Wall-Model for Large Eddy Simulation With the FR/CPR Method (AIAA 2018-2092), 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 2018, 10.2514/6.2018-2092. Jia, F., Wang, Z. J., Bhaskaran, R., Paliath, U., & Laskowski, G. M. (2017). Accuracy, Efficiency and Scalability of Explicit and Implicit FR/CPR Schemes in Large Eddy Simulation. In AIAA-2017-3096. (Peer Reviewed) Jourdan, E., Moreira, F., Breviglieri, C., Azevedo, J.L.F., & Wang, Z. J. (2017). A Study of Efficiency of Implicit High-Order Spectral Difference Method Implementations. In AIAA-2017-0740. (Peer Reviewed) Kaundinya, S., Rodriguez-Morales, F., & Arnold, E. J. (2018). A UAS-based Ultra-wideband Radar System for Soil Moisture Measurements. In 2018 IEEE Radar Conference. Keshmiri, S., Arnold, E., Blevins, A., Ewing, M., Hale, R., Leuschen, C., Lyle, J., Mahmood, A., Paden, J., Rodriguez-Morales, F., & Yan, S. (2017). Radio Echo Sounding of Russell Glacier at 35 MHz Using Compact Radar Systems on Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. In Proceedings from 2017 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. (Peer Reviewed) Keshmiri, S., Ewing, M., Hale, R., Leuschen, C., Paden, J., Rodriguez-Morales, F., & Yan, J.-B. (n.d.). MultiAgent Airborne Laboratory for Cryospheric Remote Sensing Final Report. (CReSIS Technical Report 164). https://www.cresis.ku.edu/sites/default/files/biblio/ TechRpt164.pdf Keshmiri, S., Lan, E., & Hale, R. (2017). Nonlinear aerodynamics of an unmanned aircraft in wind shear. Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 89(1), 39-51. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-11-2014-0181 (Peer Reviewed)

Kolli, J., & Hale, R. The Carry-through Tube Spar weight penalty in UAVs. In 2018 Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference. In AIAA 2018-4144. (Peer Reviewed) Kolpuke, S., Keshmiri, S., & Ewing, M. (2017). Bio-inspired navigation algorithm for GPS denial modes. In Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2017 International Conference on (pp. 196–205). Lan, C.-T., & Keshmiri, S. (2017). Analysis of the crash of a transport aircraft and assessment of fuzzy-logic stall recovery. Aerospace Science and Technology, 71, 231–244. Langley, P., Meadows, B., Sridharan, M., & Choi, D. (2017). Explainable Agency for Intelligent Autonomous Systems. In Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence. (Peer Reviewed) Li, S. J., Wang, Z. J., Ju, L., & Luo, L. S. (2017). Explicit Large Time Stepping with A Second-Order Exponential Time Integrator Scheme for Unsteady and Steady Flows. In AIAA-2017-0753. (Peer Reviewed) Li, Shu-Jie, Luo, Li-Shi, Wang, Z.J., Ju, Lili, An exponential time-integrator scheme for steady and unsteady inviscid flows, Journal of Computational Physics, Volume 365, 15 July 2018, Pages 206-225. Li, Y., & Wang, Z. J. (2017). A convergent and accuracy preserving limiter for the FR/CPR method. In AIAA2017-0756. (Peer Reviewed) Liu, C., Zheng, Z. C., Cheng, H., & Zou, X. (2018). Airflow around single and multiple plants. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 252, 27-38. (Peer Reviewed) Liu, W., Ewing, M., & Hale, R. (in review). Aeroelastic Analysis and Testing of Ultra WideBand Radar Installations on the Basler BT-67. Journal of Aircraft. (Peer Reviewed) McLaughlin, C. A., A. Sizemore, and P. M. Mehta, “Uncertainty in Drag Coefficient Modeling and the Effects on Density Estimation,” AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, AAS 18-418, Snowbird, UT, August 19-23, 2018. Menager, D., Choi, D., Floyd, M. W., Task, C., & Aha, D. W. (2017). Dynamic Goal Recognition using Windowed Action Sequences. In Proceedings of the AAAI-2017 Workshop on Plan, Activity, and Intent Recognition. KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 21

FACULTY (Peer Reviewed) Menager, D., Choi, D., Roberts, M., & Aha, D. W. Learning Planning Operators from Episodic Traces. In Proceedings of the AAAI 2018 Spring Symposium on Integrating Representation, Reasoning, Learning, and Execution for Goal Directed Autonomy, Palo Alto, CA. (Peer Reviewed) Mendoza Strilchuk, P. M., & Arnold, E. J. (2018). Characterizing Effects of Aircraft Dynamics on Airborne Antenna Arrays by Generating In-Flight Deformed Geometry for Finite Element Analysis. In 2018 AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference. In AIAA 2018-3584. Miller, B., & Arnold, E. J. (2018). Wing-Integrated Airborne Antenna Array Beamforming Sensitivity to Wing Deflection. In 2018 IEEE Aerospace Conference. (Peer Reviewed) Navierâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Stokes equations on triangular meshes, Journal of Computational Physics, Volume 363, 15 June 2018, Pages 329-353. Oh, S., Kim, D. H., Cho, I., & McLaughlin, C. A. (2017). The Effect of Center of Gravity (CG) Variation on the Flying Qualities of a Relaxed Static Stability Combat Aircraft. In 2017 Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology. (Peer Reviewed) Patil, A., & Arnold, E. J. (2018). Sensor Driven Preliminary Wing-Ground Plane Sizing Approach and Applications. International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 2018. (Peer Reviewed) Raina, A., Wetzel, K. K., & Farokhi, S. (in review). Modeling and Simulation of a 3MW Wind Turbine Blade for Determination and Analysis of Flow Characteristics. ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering: Incl. Wind Energy and Building Energy Conservation. (Peer Reviewed) Rodriguez-Morales, F., Arnold, E., Hale, R., Keshmiri, S., Leuschen, C., Li, J., & Paden, J. (2017). Multi-spectral radar measurements of ice and snow using manned and unmanned aircraft. In Geoscience and Remote Sensing (GRSS-CHILE), 2017 First IEEE International Symposium of (pp. 1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4), doi: 10.1109/GRSSCHILE.2017.7996024. Shu-Jie Li, Z.J. Wang, Lili Ju, Li-Shi Luo, Fast Time Integration of Navier-Stokes Equations with an Exponential-Integrator Scheme (AIAA 2018-0369), 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 2018, 10.2514/6.20180369. KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 22

Sun, X., Zhang, L., Huang, D., Zheng, Z. C., 2017. New Insight into Aerodynamic Characteristics of Oscillating Wings and Performance as Wind Power Generator. International Journal of Energy Research. 32, 776-789. (Peer Reviewed) Tao, X. & Wu, H., (in review). Analyzing the development of a turbulent wake via horizontal visibility graph and information theory. Physica A. (Peer Reviewed) Tao, X. & Wu, H., (in review). Quantification of the turbulence degree of complexity. Physical Letters. (Peer Reviewed) Tian, P., & Chao, H. (2018). Model Aided Estimation of Angle of Attack, Sideslip Angle, and 3D Wind without Flow Angle Measurements. In AIAA Guidance, Navigation, & Control Conference. In AIAA 2018-1844. (Peer Reviewed) Tian, P., Chao, H., Flanagan, H., Hagerott, S. G., & Gu, Y. (accepted in press). Design and Evaluation of UAV Flow Angle Estimation Filters. IEEE Transaction on Aerospace and Electronics Systems. (Peer Reviewed) Underwood, S., Taghavi, R. & Farokhi, S. (2018). Design of a Thermal Wind Tunnel for Impingement and Film Cooling Research. In AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition. In AIAA 2018-4792. Underwood, S., Taghavi, R. & Farokhi, S. (2018). Experimental and Numerical Investigation of an Airfoil using Impingement and Film Cooling in a Thermal Wind Tunnel. In AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition. In AIAA 2018-4795. Vedantam, M., Keshmiri, S., Garcia, G., & Huang, W. (2017). Fixed Wing Aircraft Perching. In AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference (pp. 1915). In AIAA 2017-1915. (Peer Reviewed) Wang, Y., Li, G., She, S., Huang, D., Zheng, Z. C. (2018). Influence of an Off-surface Small Structure on the Flow Control Effect on Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine at Different Relative Inflow Angles. Energy, 160, 101-121. (Peer Reviewed) Wang, Y., Li, G., Shen, S., Huang, D., Zheng, Z. C.. 2018. Investigation on Aerodynamic Performance of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine by Setting Micro-Cylinder in Front of the Blade Leading Edge. Energy, 143, 1107-1124. (Peer Reviewed) Wang, Z.J., & Li, Y. (2017). A mathematical analysis of scale similarity. Communications in Computational Physics, 21, 149-161. (Peer Reviewed)

Wang, Z.J., Li, Y., Jia, F., Laskowski, G., Kopriva, J., Paliath, U., & Bhaskaran, R. (2017). Towards industrial large eddy simulation using the FR/CPR method. Computers & Fluids, 156, 579-589. (Peer Reviewed)

Zhang, C., Li, Q., Fu, S., Wang, Z.J., A third-order gas-kinetic CPR method for the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations on triangular meshes. Journal of Computational Physics, 363, 329-353. (Peer Reviewed)

Wei, Z, Zheng, Z. C. (2017). Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulation on Energy Harvesting from Vortical Flows by a Passive Heaving Foil. ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering, 140(1), 011105-1:10. (Peer Reviewed)

Zhang, M., & Zheng, Z. C. (2017). High-Order Immersed-Boundary Simulation and Error Analysis for Flow around a Porous Structure. In ASME 2017 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Nov. 3-9, 2017, Tampa, FL. (pp. IMECE2017-72130). (Peer Reviewed)

Wei, Z., & Zheng, Z. C. (2017). Energy-Harvesting Mechanism of a Heaving Airfoil in a Vortical Wake. AIAA Journal, 55(12), 4061-4073. (Peer Reviewed) Wu, H., & Li, Y. (2018). Mobility and volatility: What’s behind the rising income inequality in the United States. Physica A, 492, 2345-2352 (Peer Reviewed) Xu, W., Choi, D., & Wang, G. (in press). Direct Visual-Inertial Odometry with Semi-Dense Mapping. Computers and Electrical Engineering. (Peer Reviewed) Yan, C., Fang, H., & Chao, H. (accepted in press). Energy-Aware Leader-Follower Tracking Control for Electric-Powered Multi-Agent Systems. Control Engineering Practice. (Peer Reviewed)

Zhang, Meihua, & Zheng, Z. C., 2018, “Analysis of Wakes Downstream of a Heaving Airfoil by Decomposition Methods” In AIAA 2018 Aviation Forum, June 25-29, 2018, Atlanta, GA. (pp. AIAA-2018-2904). (Peer Reviewed) Zheng, Z. C., & Wu, H. (2017). Classification of Wind Farm Turbulence and Its Effects on General Aviation Aircraft and Airports. Final Report for K-TRAN Project Number KU-16-3. (Peer Reviewed) Zhou, C., Shi, L., & Wang, Z.J. (2017). Adaptive high-order discretization of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Computers & Fluids, 156, 579-589. (Peer Reviewed)

GRANTS AND OTHER FUNDED ACTIVITY Arnold, E. (Principal), & Rodriguez-Morales, F. (Co-Investigator). Adaptation and Demonstration of an UWB Radar for Rotorcraft UAS. NASA EPSCoR, $127,596, Submitted September 20, 2016 (October 7, 2016 - November 30, 2017). Chao, H. Cooperative Sensing of Spatio-Temporal Wind and Turbulence in Atmospheric Boundary Layer Using a Team of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. 2221800 University of Kansas, $9,456, Submitted February 9, 2017 (June 30, 2017 - June 29, 2018). Chao, H. Multi-UAS-based Collaborative Sensing and Control for Enhanced Situational Awareness of Wild and Prescribed Fires. 2221800 University of Kansas, $9,000, Submitted February 9, 2018 (July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019). Choi, D. (Principal). Architectures for Elaborate Goal Reasoning. Naval Research Laboratory, $70,000, Submitted October 4, 2016 (March 1, 2017 - February 28, 2018).

Choi, D. (Principal). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Constrained Indoor Spaces. $8,469 (2016 - 2017). Fadden, M. (Principal), Ewing, M. (Co-Principal), Li, J. (Co-Principal), Collins, W. (Co-Principal), & Bennett, C. (Co-Principal). K-TRAN: KU-18-3 Dynamic Performance of Cantilevered Sign Trusses for Fatigue (RE0734-01). KS Dept of Transportation, $63,355 (July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2019). Farokhi, S. (Principal), Keshmiri, S. (Co-Principal), & Taghavi, R. (Co-Principal). Determination of appropriate locations for Angle of Attack (AOA) ports on the body of the Garmin specific air data probe (GDC7500). Garmin, $25,000 (September 26, 2017 - September 25, 2018). Hale, R. (Principal). National Space Grant Consortium College and Fellowship 2017. Wichita State University and NASA, $42,841 (January 18, 2017 - January 18, 2018). KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 23

FACULTY Keshmiri, S. (Co-Principal). Integration and Flight Test of Active Flow Control Technologies. KS Board of Regents, Wichita State University, $103,000, Submitted October 17, 2014 (May 29, 2015 - Present). Keshmiri, S. (Principal), Ewing, M. (Co-Principal), & Yun, H. (Co-Principal). Integration and Flight Test Verification of Mission Plan Computer in a UAV. Lockheed Martin, $81,107 (November 2, 2017 - July 31, 2018). Keshmiri, S. S. (Principal). Active Wing Shaping Control for Morphing Aircraft. NASA, Wichita State University, $104,951, Submitted March 31, 2015 (August 1, 2015 July 31, 2018). Layzell, T. (Principal), & Chao, H. (Co-Principal). Assessing the Effectiveness of Streambank Stabilization Projects on the Cottonwood River using Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Kansas Water Research Institute - US Geological Survey, $30,000, Submitted November 29, 2017 (June 18, 2018 - June 17, 2020). Leuschen, C. (Principal), Arnold, E. J. (Co-Principal), Hale, R. (Co-Principal), Paden, J. (Co-Principal), & Rodriguez, F. (Co-Principal). Airborne Radar Surveys of Land and Sea Ice and Data Processing Using CReSIS Instrumentation to Support IceBridge Observations. NNX16AH54G NASA, $6,223,095, Submitted January 28, 2016 (December 21, 2015 - July 31, 2019). Liu, L. (Principal), & Wu, H. (Co-Principal). Seed Research Initiation (SRI) Grant: Functionally Graded Lithium Metal Battery with High Energy Density and Ultra-Safety Functions. Wichita State University and NASA, $127,347, Submitted October 3, 2017 (October 17, 2017 - October 16, 2018). McLaughlin, C. (Principal). Implementing and Testing a Cauchy Drag Estimator. Wichita State University and NASA, $15,119, Submitted October 3, 2017 (October 17, 2017 - October 16, 2018). Taghavi, R. (Principal). Large Eddy Simulation with Pyramids and Sliding Meshes. hoCFD LLC and GE Global Research, $33,152 (November 1, 2017 - July 30, 2018).

Wang, Z. (Principal). A High-Order CPR Method on Overset Adaptive Cartesian and Prismatic Meshes for Rotorcraft Flow Simulations. US Army, $435,515, Submitted July 31, 2015 (September 1, 2015 - August 31, 2018). Wang, Z.J. (Principal), Farokhi, S., Taghavi, R., Wu, H. and Zheng, C., â&#x20AC;&#x153;Impact of Shear Layer Swirl on Nearand Far-field Noise Emissions from Twin-Engine Military Aircraft,â&#x20AC;? Submitted on 3/4/2018 to DOD (5/2019 to 4/30/2020), $200k (Approved for Funding). Wu, H. (Principal). A Theoretical and Experimental Study of the Interactions between Particle and Turbulent Structures of Various Scales. The University of Kansas, $9,135 (January 2018 - December 2018). Wu, H. (Principal). Development of holographic particle diameter measurements in complex flows. The University of Kansas, $8,000 (December 18, 2015 - December 17, 2017). Young, C. B. (Principal), & Zheng, Z. (Co-Principal). Milford Lake Hydrodynamics Study Phase II. KS Dept of Health & Environmt, $56,000 (August 1, 2017 - August 31, 2018). Yun, H. (Principal), & Keshmiri, S. (Co-Principal). Research on Backup Flight Control System for Reliable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Electronics & Telec. Research Institute, $56,000 (September 1, 2017 - November 30, 2017). Zheng, Z. (Principal). Acoustic Technology: 3D Sounds Propagation HPC Simulation with Impedance and Vegetation Models. W911NF-14-2-0077 DOD, Army Research Laboratory, $207,441 (September 29, 2014 May 28, 2018). Zheng, Z. (Principal). Simulation for Airport Noise. CSRA and US Dept of Transportation, $69,226, Submitted September 22, 2017 (October 1, 2017 - December 31, 2018).

KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 25

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES! Tyler Gerald Akker, BS

Andrew Minter, BS

Kyri Elyse Barton, MS

Jordan Nicole Alonzo, BS

Joshua Donald Mudd, BS

Akshay Basavaraj, ME

Muren Bat, BS

Miranda N. Myer, BS

Yatish Chandra, MS

Carl Thomas Beckenbaugh, BS

James Milo Newkirk, BS

Saket Navalur Gowravaram, MS

Frank J. Bonet, BS

James Steven Peters, BS

Pedro Martin Mendoza Strilchuk, MS

Alex Michael Carnoali, BS

Dalton Bastiaan Prins, BS

Ankur Santaji Patil, MS

David Mikael Coventry, BS

Nathaniel M. Routh, BS

Mohit Nahar Prashanth, MS

Jack Santino Cozzi, BS

Bradley Michael Schroeder, BS

Aditya Sai Sainath, MS

Joshua Ray Decker, BS

Amanpreet Singh, BS

Riley E. Sprunger, MS

Lukas Ferrel Deggendorf, BS

Pedro Henrique Toledo, BS

Vinay Valleru, MS

Matthew T. Dwyer, BS

Megan Marie Utter, BS

Aaron M. Ellis, BS

Joseph A. Vincent, BS

Taylor Roshonda George, BS

Dylan Michael Wachter, BS

John A. Haug, BS

Luke N. Wehrkamp, BS

Cody ArWayne Hill, BS

Nicholas Donald Werner, BS

Haydn A. Miller, BS

Ethan Michael James Williams, BS

Joshua Milota, BS

Anpeng He, PhD A Ram Kim, PhD Sean Christopher Underwood, PhD

Fall 2017 - Spring 2018 Colloquium Series The Department of Aerospace Engineering brings in several industry experts every academic year to present to students and faculty. The goal of Colloquium is to expose students to a variety of disciplines in the aerospace engineering field. Fall 2017 Richard Hale, KUAE Career Services, KU School of Engineering Tom Creighton & Tom Crabtree, Boeing

Advisory Board, Freshmen Roundtable

Spring 2018

Wes Ryan, FAA

Alexandra Hall, Zee Aero

Antony Hunt, Boeing Global Services

Steve Hawley, KU Physics & Astronomy

Jerry Wohletz, BAE Systems Electronic Systems KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 26

Richard Hale, KUAE

Wes Ryan, FAA Bob Brock, KDOT

DEPARTMENT 24th Annual Awards Banquet Aerospace faculty, staff, students, and Advisory Board members joined together on April 6, 2018 to celebrate achievements through the year and to welcome new faces that joined the department. Emeritus faculty members also joined the night, as well as University faculty and staff. Department Chair Dr. Richard Hale spoke about the latest department news and announced this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award winners.

Outstanding GTA Arno Prinsloo Outstanding Sophomore Will Brabston Outstanding Junior Joe Block Outstanding Senior

Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Joe Vincent Vince Muirhead Award for Leadership Madison Sargent Outstanding Educator Award Dr. Saeed Farokhi

Taylor George

KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 27

DEPARTMENT

KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SMALL SATELLITE INITIATIVE Immediate Opportunity: NASA has approved the University of Kansas proposal for the CubeSat Launch Initiative that launches small payloads beyond Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere. As such, we are officially in the queue for a future launch, likely in 2019/20.

Vision: While current students, staff and faculty can rally to develop a single small satellite launch, KUAE wishes to see a sustained student program of designing, fabricating, ground testing, launching and operating small satellites for education and research opportunities. Investments in faculty, facilities, equipment and students will provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure for education and research leading to:

KUAE Strengths: The University of Kansas offers a broad education in Aerospace Engineering, with more required technical depth across subsystem specialties than most accredited programs. KUAE students have won more aerospace design awards (aircraft, propulsion and spacecraft) than any other aerospace program. Our research on developing airborne systems for suborbital environmental remote sensing is recognized internationally. This vision leverages these strengths leading to sustained developmental of orbital remote sensing systems for education and research.

- A vibrant training ground for aerospace engineers with experience in space systems - Innovations in payloads, aerospace systems, and industry relevant research - Scientific discovery in other disciplines by enabling orbital remote sensing - Practiced, experienced engineering leaders prepared for the workforce

Photos courtesy of NASA.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A healthy and vibrant Aerospace Engineering Program requires experiential research opportunities for diverse students in both aeronautics and astronautics. The time is right to leverage our strengths in suborbital remote sensing to expand opportunities for orbital remote sensing with small satellites, ensuring we recruit and retain the best students to KU Engineering.â&#x20AC;? - Richard Hale, Ph.D., C.E. and M.J. Spahr Professor and Chair, Aerospace Engineering Action Plan: 1) Support for Initial Launch: ($50,000 in hardware and travel) 2) Continued facility Renovations (naming opportunities also available) 3) Faculty Hire in the area of space systems, to include small satellites, space robotics and related sub-specialties supporting orbital remote sensing, to supplement our existing strengths in suborbital remote sensing. The new hire will collaborate with many faculty in Aerospace Engineering, the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), Electrical Engineering, Physics and other to advance multi-disciplinary research and education, and build a sustained externally funded research program. a. Position to be filled as early as Fall 2019, with available funds for entry-level faculty salary. b. Donors wishing to see a more immediate transition to an established program of relevant research may consider supporting a senior faculty hire. Recruiting a candidate with exceptional qualifications, likely to require rank of Full Professor, will require philanthropic support to provide salary augmentation and higher start-up costs. A named, Endowed Professorship would be required. c. Faculty Startup Funds to support research facilities, equipment and graduate and undergraduate research assistants

Join us to Make a Difference: The Department of Aerospace Engineering provides the knowledge and experience necessary to enable generations of technical innovation. Partner with us on one or more action plans in this initiative and position KU as a leader in Aerospace teaching and research for orbital and suborbital remote sensing. For more information on the Small Satellite Initiative, please contact Richard Hale, Spahr Professor and Chair, Aerospace Engineering, (785)-864-2949, rhale@ku.edu. To join us to make a gift in support of the small satellite initiative, please contact Michael Arp, Development Director and Team Lead, KU School of Engineering, Kansas University Endowment Association, (785) 832-7410, MArp@ KUEndowment.org.

4) Unrestricted program support to offer annual flexibility in needs for undergraduate and graduate student support, research infrastructure, faculty startup, equipment, supplies, travel, launch costs and other

KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 29

DEPARTMENT

DEPARTMENT WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS TO KUAE ADVISORY BOARD In 2017, the department welcomed Sarah Elizabeth McCandless and Dr. Elizabeth Gregory to the KU Aerospace Engineering Advisory Board. Sarah Elizabeth McCandless works for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as a navigation engineer. She performs orbit determination analyses for a variety of flight projects including MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution), Mars 2020, and InSight, NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most recent mission to Mars that will land in November 2018. She also develops multi-mission software tools and performs research investigating the feasibility of optical communication observables for deep-space navigation. While at KU, she earned a B.S. in aerospace engineering and a minor in French. Subsequently, she earned an M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas where her thesis focused on developing a new drought index using data from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission. Outside of work, Sarah Elizabeth enjoys running, reading, photography, and flying.

Elizabeth Gregory joined the Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch at NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Langley Research Center in 2017 as part of the Langley High Performance Computing Incubator. Her research focuses on applying high performance computing resources to NDE simulation and data analysis problems. She completed her Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at Iowa State University in May of 2016 where she worked at the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation on big data analysis for material state estimation. After earning her BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas, she worked for two years at ATK Aerospace Structures in Clearfield, Utah on the Ares I Launch Vehicle composite structures design and material characterization. In 2009 she returned to graduate school at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she earned an MS in Mechanical Engineering while working at the Hawaii Space Flight Lab as the attitude determination and control subsystem designer and the payloads engineer.

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Plans for office and lab renovations set in motion

his summer, the Aerospace Engineering Department began the first of a series of planned renovations for two of its undergraduate teaching and research facilities, located in Learned Hall Rooms 1170 and 1182A. Renovations include installing new windows that allow passers-by to take a closer look at aerospace engineering research being conducted by KUAE students. The Hill Space Systems Lab will serve as a small satellite maker space in Room 1170, equipped with a HEMCO Class 100,000 clean room comprising 12’x12’ of space, including a 4’x12’ gowning room. Within the clean room is a new 6’ wide HEMCO Class 100 EnviroMax Laminar Flow Enclosure. Together these facilities enable a world-class clean environment for developing and ground testing student small satellites. The facility renovations also include new glass doors, electronic key-card access and furniture, in addition to the recently-installed windows. With the high visibility of this location, we hope to better inspire, recruit and retain the next generation of aerospace engineers. While this is an end of an era for the old “Annex” space formerly in this room, it is the start of a truly exciting era of expanded experiential research for our space track students. Room 1182A will function as a new and greatly-expanded “Annex” area, while still serving as the teaching space for Introduction to Astronautics (AE 360). This much-larger space will eventually accommodate 25 students, versus the 9 workstations in the historic “Annex.” By mid-semester this facility will be equipped with new doors, electronic key-card access, dual-height (sitting/ standing) computer lab tables, computer workstations each with dual monitors, and chairs appropriate for student comfort during those long design projects.

Fig. 2

Fig. 1: CAD model of computer lab renovations. Fig. 2: Interior satellite office space and clean room model. Photo courtesy of Arno Prinsloo.

AE Graduate Seminar Speaker Series Kathik Duraisamy, University of Michigan

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Primary completion of both room renovations is set for early to mid-October, and the installation of the HEMCO Modular Clean Room and ultra-clean hood in Room 1170 is expected by January 1, 2019. It is our hope that these facility renovations will enhance teaching and research efforts within the AE Department by increasing the number and capabilities of our research labs, and thereby attracting new and continued interest in funded research.

Fig. 1

Johan Larsson, University of Maryland

Mingjun Wei, Kansas State University

DEPARTMENT

KUAE searches for new Flight Research Laboratory Technician

he Department has created and is currently seeking to fill a new Flight Research Laboratory Research Technician staff position at the KU Aerospace Engineering Airport Facilities. The position calls for an applicant with broad skills related to education and flight research of manned and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The successful candidate will enhance AE

Department research and education through a detailed knowledge of U.S. airspace regulations, a FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a UAS rating, skills to fabricate UAS parts and integrate propulsion and electrical systems, the ability to support UAS operations (including teaching and mentoring students), and knowledge of working with UAS ground stations and software.

This new staff member will also be responsible for maintaining and ensuring safety in departmental airport labs (e.g. Propulsion and Avionics Lab) and testbeds, helping us to even further expand our experiential learning opportunities for designing, fabricating, ground testing and flight testing aerospace systems.

Department begins Simulator Room open hours

n spring 2018, the department held regular open hours for the Aerospace Engineering Simulator Room (2C Learned Hall) on Wednesdays and Thursdays, allowing students and guests to watch or fly, and to further explore their interest in the engineering fields. Our Propulsion Simulator, from Price Induction, is a real-time response engine simulation station that allows the user to modify

the parameters related to flight conditions by acting on outside conditions, throttle position, master switch and mode selector, at any time. Our RC-1 Elite flight simulator, donated by Rear Admiral Gene Kendall, uses a 3D computer and graphics software in order to enhance the flight experience. Both simulators have been excellent additions to the department.

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KUAE participates in Drone Dome Dedication at Cosmosphere

hanks to a sponsorship provided by the KU School of Engineering, the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson launched a new drone education program with a dedication on Saturday, August 18. The sponsorship provided the funds needed to construct a 30’(W) X 30’(L) X 13’6”(H) drone dome with netting on all sides, creating a safe place to fly small UASs.

STEM OUTREACH IN LEAVENWORTH

n October 2017, KUAE professor Ronald Barrett-Gonzalez and PhD student Lauren Schumacher traveled to Leavenworth, Kansas for the First City Science Fair, sponsored by the Leavenworth Rotary Club and the University of Saint Mary. The goal of the event, which attracted over 600 attendees, is to raise awareness of STEM fields among middle school students in the area through activities and presentations about various sci-

The Cosmosphere scheduled the dedication of the new drone dome in conjunction with the monthly Space Out Saturday program. The August event celebrated National Aviation Day. Dr. Richard Hale and two students (Aaron Blevins and Grant Godfrey) were at the Cosmosphere not only to help dedicate the drone dome but also to showcase KU’s UAS program to museum visitors with a mid-size, fixed wing aircraft display and many example

flight test videos in the lobby. Following the dedication ceremony, the dome was put to the test with a demonstration of various drones. The public was invited to try their hand at flight by piloting some of the Cosmosphere’s small drones. The Cosmosphere provides educational experiences for all ages with standards-aligned, career-focused, curricular packages that are combined with hands-on experience. The new drone program is an additional option to ignite curiosity and help prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. The KU School of Engineering and KUAE are proud to partner with them for educating and inspiring the next generation.

ence topics. There, Dr. Barrett-Gonzalez and Schumacher joined in on the fun, handing out hundreds of brochures and magazines, and flying drones and floating balloons with the students. KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 33

FUNDING OUR FUTURE Investments in the Department from alumni and friends like you are critical in our effort to provide our students an excellent aerospace education. KUAE has built a national and international reputation in our undergraduate education. To sustain that excellence, we do need your support. There are many giving opportunities for the Department that benefit our students, faculty, programs, research, and facilities. We invite you to visit the KU Endowment web site to give to the area of the Department or the University that interests you. If you have any questions, please contact us by email (givetoku@kuendowment. org) or call KU Endowment at 800-444-4201. The Department has recently started the Dr. Jan Roskam Faculty Opportunity Fund. This fund shall be used to support faculty in the Aerospace Engineering Department for salary support, travel, and other costs associated with advancement of the educational and research mission of the Department. With your support, KUAE will soar to new heights. The Aerospace Engineering Department wishes to acknowledge and thank the following generous donors who have contributed from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

Premier Society - $100,000 or more lifetime Walter R. Garrison and Jayne B. Garrison Hazel Best Nuss and Marvin R. Nuss Deans Club Donors - $1,000 to $2,999 Andrew F. Dracon Jane E. Fortin and Paul E. Fortin, PhD Lawrence L. Gore Charles L. Guthrie Leland R. Johnson Jr., PhD Vicki S. Johnson, PhD Jason M. Jundt and Stephanie Kresky-Jundt Karen Goodyear Krekeler and Gregory C. Krekeler Jr. Chuan-Tau Lan and Sumy C. Lan Kurt L. Schueler Charles A. Shoup Dr. Zhi Jian Wang and Xiaojie Qu David B. Weaver and Laurie A. Weaver KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 34

Deans Club Rising Stars - $500 or more from alumni 35 years of age or younger Daniel M. Kennedy Sarah Elizabeth McCandless Campanile Club - $500 to $999 H. Ronald Miller and Sandra K. Miller Richard L. Peil Robert J. Powell William E. Witwicki Crimson and Blue Club - $300 to $499 Wilhelmus A.J. Anemaat, PhD and MaryJo Anemaat Christipher A. Leitenberger Jeffrey Richmond Elizabeth Waugh and J. Scott McCandless

1865 Club - $100 to $299 Jack M. Abercrombie and Carolyn K. Abercrombie John R. Burke and Laura L. Burke Milton L. Gleason and Deborah K. Gleason Gerald E. Jenks and Pamela D. Jenks Jeffrey C. Miller Vincent U. Muirhead Eric J. Peterson Perry N. Rea Kevin L. Smith Robert A. Stuever, PhD and Lisa M. Stuever Sarah Waugh Wamsley COL Richard A. Willhite, USAF, Retired John A. Zimmerman and Renee A. Zimmerman Donors - up to $99 Rodrigo E. Chavez Richard Gerren, PhD and Donna S. Gerren, PhD Barrad M. Gurwell Richard L. Horvath and Meredith L. Horvath CAPT James D. Keen, USN, Ret. and Jody M. Keen COL Brett A. Loyd Darren P. McSweeney and Sarah Lafferty McSweeney Charles E. Novak CAPT Wendell C. Ridder, USN Retired and Anne H. Ridder Leslie A. Smith, PhD Su-Gin Tiong Edward Wolcott LCDR Hsin-Fu Wu, USN, Retired and Theresa Wu Corporate Donors The Boeing Company DARcorporation Honeywell Spirit AeroSystems KU AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2018 | 35

2120 Learned Hall 1530 W 15th St. Lawrence, KS 66045

ae.engr.ku.edu