Ilan Kroo

Dr. Ilan Kroo

Academic Appointments: Thomas V. Jones Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University's School of Engineering. Active in teaching and research since at least 1983 (PhD Stanford).

• Education: PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University (1983).
• Research Focus:
  • Multidisciplinary optimization and aircraft synthesis
  • Unconventional aircraft configurations (e.g., joined wings, oblique wings)
  • Low-speed aerodynamics: vortex wake analysis, induced drag computation
• Awards: Elected Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2013–Present).
• Teaching: Leads courses on aircraft design, applied aerodynamics, and sustainable aviation. Courses include AA 146A/B, AA 241A/B, and independent study modules.
• Students: Advises master's students William Ho, Sean Lin, Adrian Loekman, and Sebastian Monsalvo.
• Labs/Teams: Involved in NASA and industry-sponsored projects on computational aircraft design and transonic formation flight.

Recent Work: Focus on pilot-induced oscillation mitigation, extended formation flight efficiency, and UAV swarm control. Active in publishing since 2009, with 116+ papers.