Andrew J. Banko

Dr. Andrew J. Banko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and serves as the Director of the West Point Technical Scholars Program (TSP). His role in TSP involves cadet mentorship, technical communication instruction, external speaker engagements, community building events, and scholarship application administration.

Dr. Banko earned his academic degrees from prestigious institutions:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2012)
• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University (2014)
• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University (2018)

Prior to joining West Point, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford's Center for Turbulence Research.

Dr. Banko's research focuses on turbulent flows, heat and mass transfer, and experimental fluid dynamics. He employs advanced techniques such as laser diagnostics and magnetic resonance imaging to study complex turbulent systems. His work spans applications in urban air quality, energy systems, and propulsion, utilizing statistical and reduced-order modeling for turbulent transport phenomena.

Current research projects investigate turbulent dispersion in urban areas for air quality management, effects of additively manufactured surface roughness on gas turbine film cooling, heat transfer in particle-laden flows for renewable energy, and magnetic resonance imaging for complex turbulent flow measurement.

Dr. Banko's recent publications (2015-2023) demonstrate a strong focus on experimental and computational investigations of turbulent flows, particularly in particle-laden systems and urban environments. His work frequently utilizes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for flow measurement and explores applications in air quality, gas turbine cooling, and renewable energy, with a growing trend in integrating machine learning for turbulence modeling.

As Director of the Technical Scholars Program, Dr. Banko leads cadet mentorship and scholarship application administration. While specific research grants are not detailed, his leadership in TSP involves securing external speaker engagements and fostering community building events to support cadet development in technical fields.

Dr. Banko directs the West Point Technical Scholars Program (TSP), which serves as a hub for cadet engagement in technical disciplines. The program fosters a community of scholars through mentorship, technical communication training, and external collaborations. His research is conducted within the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering, leveraging experimental facilities for fluid dynamics studies.