Title: “Flying on Mars: The legacy of von Kármán”
Abstract: In 1918, Dr. Theodore von Kármán, while serving as the research group director at Fischamend Airfield in Hungary, oversaw the development of a small, unmanned drone helicopter powered by a single rotary piston engine with a co-axial double-blade rotor. A century later, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and GALCIT, institutions founded by von Kármán, achieved a significant milestone by designing, testing, and flying a strikingly similar helicopter named Ingenuity on the Martian surface. In this presentation, we will explore some of the challenges encountered by engineers at JPL and GALCIT in realizing this feat and discuss future challenges in designing Mars drones.
Bio: Mory Gharib is the Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Medical Engineering at Caltech and the Booth-Kresa Leadership Chair for the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies. He is Chair of the Graduate Aerospace Department (GALCIT) and the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies director. He received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Tehran University in 1975 and his M.S. in aerospace and mechanical engineering from Syracuse University in 1978. In 1983, He completed his Ph.D. in Aeronautics from Caltech, where he continued his work as a research Scientist at JPL before joining UCSD as a faculty. He joined Caltech in 1983 as a professor of Aeronautics. Professor Gharib’s research interests include conventional fluid dynamics and aeronautics, including vortex dynamics, active and passive flow control, autonomous flight, and underwater systems. His research in the life sciences includes cardiovascular and eye physiology and medical device development.
Dr. Gharib’s honors and affiliations include; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the American Physical Society, and Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering. He has received the G.I. Taylor Medal from the Society of Engineering Sciences, the Fluid Dynamics Prize from the American Physical Society, and five new technology recognition awards from NASA in advanced laser imaging and nanotechnology. In 2008, he received R&D Magazine’s “R&D 100 Innovation Award” for one of the year’s best inventions for his 3-D imaging camera system. Additionally, Dr. Gharib has published more than 250 papers in refereed journals and has been issued more than 150 U.S. Patents.
Website: https://www.eas.caltech.edu/people/mgharib
Host: Dennice Gayme
Reception to follow.
Zoom: Meeting ID 955 8366 7779; Passcode 530803
https://wse.zoom.us/j/95583667779