David Petty

Dr David Petty is a Lecturer at the School of Engineering and Information Technology (UNSW Canberra). He joined in 2022 after serving as a research scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Center for Exascale Simulation of Plasma-Coupled Combustion.

• PhD in Aerospace Engineering (University of Queensland, 2015)
• BE (Mechanical & Space) with Honors / BSc in Mathematics (University of Queensland, 2009)

His research focuses on:

• High-fidelity variable-density turbulence modelling and hypersonic boundary-layer transition using spectral methods and automatic differentiation
• Thermochemical nonequilibrium gasdynamics in supersonic flows, including vibrational nonequilibrium and real-gas physics
• DSMC implementations on FPGAs for exascale simulations of plasma-coupled combustion

Recent work emphasizes stochastic learning machines, supersonic nozzle flows, and uncontrolled re-entry dynamics.

Dr Petty teaches Thermodynamics (ZEIT2500) and Fluid Mechanics (ZEIT2503), integrating his expertise in hypersonic systems and turbulence modelling.