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Pietro BortolottiView profile

Researcher

• Multidisciplinary design, analysis and optimization (MDAO) of wind energy systems
• Wind turbine rotor design
• Aeroservoelasticity of wind turbines
• +3 more

Pietro Bortolotti is a senior researcher at the National Wind Technology Center, focusing on wind energy systems. He leads U.S. Department of Energy-funded projects like Big Adaptive Rotor and Holistic Systems Engineering, advancing land-based wind turbine technology through multidisciplinary design and multi-fidelity optimization approaches. Education: Bachelor in Energy Engineering, Politecnico di Milano Master in Sustainable Energy Technology, Technical University of Delft PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Munich His research spans MDAO of wind energy systems , rotor design , and aeroservoelasticity , with applications in turbine aerodynamics, noise reduction, and AI-driven environmental monitoring. Recent work includes comparing downwind/upwind turbine configurations, bat tracking systems, and large-scale turbine optimizations. Key trends in his 2024–2025 publications reflect advancements in rotor dynamics , multi-fidelity modeling , and AI integration for wildlife monitoring. Collaborations include institutions like DTU, TU Delft, and NREL, with tools like WISDEM, WEIS, and OpenFAST underpinning his research. His professional journey includes postdoctoral work at NREL (2018–2019), research roles at Technical University of Munich (2013–2018), and a research assistantship at Denmark Technical University (2012–2013). He contributes to projects improving numerical models for wind turbine analysis and optimization.

Darshan SarojiniView profile

Assistant Professor

• Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis, and Optimization (MDAO)
• Aircraft Design
• Systems Engineering
• +5 more

Darshan Sarojini is an Assistant Professor in the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department at Virginia Tech (College of Engineering). His research focuses on Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis, and Optimization (MDAO) , Certification-Driven Aircraft Design , and Systems Engineering , with applications in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) systems. He leads the Intelligent Design Optimization (IDOpt) Lab , which develops advanced methods for complex engineering systems design. Education: Ph.D. & M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology M.S. in Computational Science and Engineering, Georgia Tech B.E. in Mechanical Engineering, B.M.S. College of Engineering, India Research expertise includes integrating Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) with MDAO, high-performance computing (HPC) workflows, and structural optimization under dynamic loads. He has served as Technical Discipline Chair for the AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies committee and contributed to NASA ULI projects. Recent work emphasizes large-scale MDO of eVTOL concepts, certification-constrained design, and computational frameworks for aircraft systems. He has mentored students from the ENLACE program and collaborated with industry partners like Archer Aviation and Aurora Flight Sciences. Honors include Best Application Paper Awards at IFToMM 2015 and the 2015 National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms. His lab actively engages in student competitions (e.g., IndySCC) and promotes broader participation in HPC through workshops.

John F. Dannenhoffer IIIView profile

Associate Professor

• Multi-disciplinary Analysis and Optimization (MDAO)
• Computational Geometry (CG)
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• +3 more

Dr. John F. Dannenhoffer III is an Associate Professor at Syracuse University's Department of Aerospace Engineering, affiliated with the Aerospace Computational Methods Lab (ACML). He specializes in multi-disciplinary analysis and optimization (MDAO), computational geometry, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), with a focus on aerospace vehicle design. His work centers around the Engineering Sketch Pad (ESP), an open-source system enabling optimal design through feature-based solid modeling and sensitivity-driven optimization. Education: Sc.D., Computational Fluid Dynamics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1987) M.E., Aerospace Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1978) B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1976) Research Contributions: ESP's unique feature of providing design sensitivities directly from CAD geometry has revolutionized gradient-based optimization. It is used by over 1,000 users across dozens of organizations. Dannenhoffer's publications span parallelization strategies for CFD-based optimization, real-time collaborative design environments, and educational tools integrating programming in mechanical design courses. Awards: 2016 Syracuse University ECS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Engineering Education 2015 and 2014 AIAA Shahyar Pirzadeh Memorial Awards for papers on design sensitivity calculations and conservative fitting in multi-disciplinary analysis Advising & Labs: Leads the ACML lab, focusing on CAD-centric design systems and multidisciplinary analysis. ESP's development highlights his commitment to open-source tools and practical engineering education.

• Complex Systems
• Embedded Systems
• Multiphysical Systems
• +9 more

Omar Hammami is a Senior Lecturer at ENSTA Paris, affiliated with the Computer Science and Systems Engineering Unit (U2IS). He has been an Enseignant-Chercheur (Teacher-Researcher) at U2IS since 2000. Previously, he served as an Associate Professor in Japan from 1993 to 2000, where he led the performance evaluation laboratory. Between 1991 and 1993, he held temporary teaching-research roles at ENSEEIHT, INSA Toulouse, and ENSICA. Education: HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) in Physics from the University of Orsay Doctoral Thesis in Computer Science from Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse Research Interests: His work focuses on complex systems, embedded systems, and multiphysical systems, with emphasis on systems engineering, theoretical analysis of complexity, and design space exploration (DSE). He also contributes to multidisciplinary optimization (MDAO) and develops applications for civil and military autonomous systems, including UAVs and robotics. His expertise spans electronics, microelectronics (ASIC circuits, FPGA), and manycore/multicore architectures. Scientific Awards: Prizes awarded to several articles at international conferences Labs and Teams: Omar has contributed to the performance evaluation laboratory in Japan and is currently part of the U2IS unit at ENSTA Paris. His research aligns with the Autonomous Systems and Robotics (ARS) axis, addressing industrial challenges in system design and reliability.

• Aircraft design
• Cost estimation
• Hybrid electric vehicles
• +7 more

Marco Fioriti is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS) of the Polytechnic University of Turin . His research focuses on Aircraft Design , On-Board Systems , Hybrid Electric Vehicles , and Transportation Electrification , with particular emphasis on RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety) and Cost Estimation for advanced aerospace systems. He has coordinated major research projects including: COLOSSUS (2023-2026): Collaborative System of Systems Exploration of Aviation Products HERA (2023-2026): Hybrid Electric Regional Architecture DIGACE (2023-2025): Digital Innovative Aircraft Certification AGILE4.0 (2019-2022): Collaborative MDAO Frameworks His recent journal contributions and conference proceedings focus on: Machine learning for thermal system diagnostics Life cycle assessment models Electromechanical actuator reliability Automated certification workflows Thermal management for hybrid aircraft He serves on the Scientific Committee of AIAA (since 2023) and has been a Guest Editor for Aerospace (2020-2023). Awards include the ICAS Award for Innovation in Aeronautics (2018) and DLR Hamburg Collaboration Recognition (2019).