Jordan Smart

Jordan Smart is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with The Grainger College of Engineering. His roles include teaching and research in aerospace systems design and computational methods. He holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. from Stanford University (2023 and 2018) and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University (2015). Prior to academia, he worked as a Mechanical Engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems (2016-2017) and co-founded Stargazer Design Technologies Inc. (2022-present) and Aerospace Research Community LLC (2023-present).

His research focuses on numerical techniques, optimization, AI/ML-driven design, and aerospace systems modeling. Key areas include simulation acceleration, uncertainty quantification, and generative AI for configuration design. Recent work includes DeepSPACE (2024) and studies on SUAVE software optimization (2021-2023). His articles span space policy, neural network applications, and propulsion system aerodynamics.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, 2023
  • M.Sc., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, 2018
  • B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2015

He has received multiple honors, including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2018) and JEDI Service Award (2022). Professional memberships include AIAA and Sigma Xi. Courses taught include Aerospace Systems Design I/II (AE 442/443).