Kevin A. Shinpaugh

Kevin A. Shinpaugh is Collegiate Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. Since 2019 he has led instruction and research in spacecraft design and propulsion, leveraging decades of experience in high-performance computing and space-systems engineering.

Education

• Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech (1994)
• M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech (1989)
• B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech (1986)

Research Focus

Dr. Shinpaugh’s scholarship centers on the intersection of high-performance computing (HPC) and space systems engineering. He develops and applies advanced computational techniques to spacecraft design, propulsion analysis, and mission planning. His work spans numerical simulation of complex aerospace systems, optimization of propulsion architectures, and creation of scalable HPC frameworks that enable rapid design iteration for spacecraft and launch vehicles.

Publication Trends

Across more than thirty refereed papers and design-competition reports, a clear trajectory emerges: early contributions in experimental fluid-mechanics instrumentation (laser-Doppler velocimetry, fiber-optic sensors) evolved into large-scale computational studies of space systems, and most recently into student-led mission-concept designs for CubeSats, lunar exploration, and interplanetary missions. Keywords consistently include spacecraft design, propulsion, deployable structures, and mission architecture.

Service & Committees

• Chair, Virginia Tech HPC User Committee (2004–2011)
• Member, VT HPC Advisory Board (2007–present)
• NSF TeraGrid/XSEDE Campus Champion for Virginia Tech (2006–2013)
• IBM HPC/AI Customer Advisory Council DC (2019–present)
• Member, VT AOE Seminar Committee (2019–present)

Laboratory & Computing Resources

Dr. Shinpaugh has long stewarded Virginia Tech’s high-performance computing ecosystem. He directs students and collaborators in leveraging the university’s Advanced Research Computing (ARC) clusters, as well as national facilities through XSEDE and DoD HPCMP, to execute spacecraft-design simulations and propulsion analyses at scale.