Jason Hicken

Dr. Jason Hicken is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and co-director of the Rensselaer Augmented and Virtual Environment. His research focuses on computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamic shape optimization, and simulation-based design. He holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (2009), with postdoctoral training at Stanford University. Notable awards include the AFOSR Young Investigator Award (2015) and NSF CAREER Award (2016).

His research interests span high-order numerical methods, entropy-stable discretizations, and optimization techniques for complex systems. He has contributed to advancing finite-difference operators, summation-by-parts schemes, and multi-disciplinary design optimization. His work bridges computational engineering and applied mathematics, addressing challenges in fluid dynamics, thermal systems, and aerospace applications. His lab, the Optimal Design Lab (http://www.optimaldesignlab.com/), develops innovative tools for engineering design optimization.

Key achievements include developing entropy-stable numerical frameworks and integrating machine learning techniques for preconditioning in advection-dominated flows. His research has been applied to electric motor design, thermal management systems, and additive manufacturing. Awards recognize his contributions to foundational methods in computational engineering and aerospace optimization.