Joseph E. Shepherd

Joseph E. Shepherd is the C.L. "Kelly" Johnson Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering at Caltech, specializing in explosion dynamics, shock waves, and hypersonic flows. His research examines extreme fluid mechanics phenomena through experiments and modeling, with applications to industrial safety, nuclear power, and aerospace systems.

Professor Shepherd leads the Explosion Dynamics Laboratory, studying combustion, detonations, and fluid-structure interactions. His group has investigated high-profile accidents including the TWA Flight 800 crash and Fukushima nuclear disaster to improve safety protocols. Current work focuses on blast wave propagation, hypersonic flow physics, and energy conversion technologies.

He currently advises graduate students in explosion dynamics and teaches courses in nonsteady gasdynamics.