photo collage of recent ph.d. graduates and their advisors

2017 - 2018 Doctoral Dissertations

Each year, the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering graduates between 30 and 40 doctoral students - each with unique contributions to make in research, academia, industry, and the evolution of the discipline itself. On this page, we provide links to their abstracts and their published dissertations. 

Name Title Abstract Advisor Abstract or Dissertation
Takuma Nakamura Multiple-Hypothesis Vision-Based Landing Autonomy Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) need humans in the mission loop for many tasks, and landing is one of the tasks that typically involves a human pilot. This is because of the complexity of a maneuver itself and flight-critical factors such as recognition of a landing zone, collision avoidance, assessment of landing sites, and decision to abort the maneuver. Prof. Eric N. Johnson read the abstract 
Alexandra C. Long Passively Stable Pyramid Sail to Deorbit Small Satellites Orbital debris is a growing problem in low-Earth orbit, especially with a number of commercial companies intending to launch hundreds to thousands of micro-satellites into this regime with the goal of providing global internet service. Prof. David Spencer read the dissertation
Shane Lympany Acoustic Damping Mechanisms of Half-Wave Resonators with Applications to Rocket Engine Combustion Instabilities Combustion instabilities in rocket engines are caused by coupling between the combustion processes and pressure oscillations in a combustor, and they are characterized by the frequencies and shapes of the acoustic modes of the combustion chamber. Prof. Krishan K. Ahuja read the dissertation
Leah Ruckle Approaches to Solving the Express Shipment Service Network Design Problem Express shipment, the delivery of same-day, overnight and two-day packages, is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States and abroad. It has become an essential part of business operations and, with the rise of e-commerce, an expectation of the everyday consumer Prof. Dimitri Mavris read the dissertation
Peter Z. Schulte A State Machine Architecture for Aerospace Vehicle Fault Protection Because of their complexity and the unforgiving environment in which they operate, aerospace vehicles are vulnerable to mission-critical failures. Prof. David Spencer read the dissertation
Ju Hyun Kim A Methodology for Forecasting Impact of Demand Response on Capacity Expansion Planning In parallel to tighter energy regulations and increasing demand for emissions reduction, the Department of Energy (DOE) has set a goal to reduce energy consumption in the building sector to 50% of 2010 levels by 2030.  Prof. Dimitri N. Mavris read the dissertation
Yong-Boon Kong Development of a Finite State Coaxial Rotor Dynamic Inflow Model Accurate modeling of rotor inflow dynamics in flight simulations is crucial for rotorcraft performance and handling qualities evaluations. While inflow predictions based on momentum theory give good results in hover, they do not produce the accuracy needed in forward flight. Prof. J.V.R. Prasad read the dissertation
Christopher R. McBryde Spacecraft Visual Navigation Using Appearance Matching and Multi-Spectral Sensor Fusion One of the capabilities necessary for a successful satellite mission is knowledge of its location and orientation in space, especially relative to a target. Relative navigation is an enabling technology for spacecraft formation flying, rendezvous and docking, and hazard avoidance. Prof. Glenn Lightsey) read the dissertation
Seth Gordon A Stochastic Agent Approach (SAA) for Mission Effectiveness A process for using stochastic and probabilistic agent decision-making was proposed. This process is employed to conduct a Mission Space Exploration to evaluate a wide assortment of possible matériel and non-matériel solutions to an identified capability gap. Prof. Dimitri Mavris read the dissertation
Shiang-Ting Yeh Common Proper Orthogonal Decomposition-Based Emulation and System Identification for Model-Based Analysis of Combustion Dynamics For high-performance power generation and propulsion systems, such as those of airbreathing and rocket engines, physical experiments are expensive due to the harsh requirements of operating conditions. Prof. Vigor Yang read the dissertation