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Reed, Helen
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Currently Teaching
My Hours: 1000 - 1130 Mondays and Wednesdays. Open door otherwise
AERO 201 Introduction to Aerospace Engineering
AERO 691 Research
Education
Ph.D., Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Dec. 1981
Advisor: Dr. Ali Nayfeh
Dissertation: The Tollmien-Schlichting Instability of Laminar Viscous FlowsM.S., Engineering Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Jun. 1980
Advisor: Dr. Ali Nayfeh
Thesis: Closed-Form Solutions for Subsonic Flows over Plates with Porous StripsA.B. in Mathematics, Goucher College, May 1977
Advisor: Dr. Dorothy Bernstein
Thesis: Limit Cycles of Autonomous Systems of Differential Equations
Areas of Interest
Boundary-layer transition and flow control, hypersonic flow, micro-/nano-satellite design, responsive systems including software and hardware architectures, autonomous rendezvous and docking, unmanned and micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), integrated concurrent engineering and systems design, numerical methods. Accomplishments include:
Aerodynamics:
1) Designed supercritical laminar flow control (LFC) airfoils under direction of Dr. Werner Pfenninger at NASA Langley
2) Developed innovative physical models for efficient placement of suction to delay transition and predicted that early suction is key to transition control in 2-D flows. Companion to wind-tunnel tests at Virginia Tech.
3) Through direct numerical simulations (DNS), proved that presence of freestream vorticity can alter transition mechanism observed. Explained why theory predicts one type, experiments observe another in 2-D flows.
4) Carefully validated tools for 2-D leading-edge receptivity, and demonstrated importance of accurately including geometry in any receptivity study. Companion to very sensitive wind-tunnel tests in Klebanoff-Saric Quiet Unsteady Wind Tunnel at Arizona State.
5) Carefully validated Nonlinear Parabolized Stability Equations and demonstrated them to be the proper tool for crossflow instability. Companion to very sensitive experiments in Klebanoff-Saric Quiet Unsteady Wind Tunnel at Arizona State (Tunnel now relocated to Texas A&M).
6) Lead computational person in several major experimental and flight test programs aimed at demonstrating Saric-developed spanwise-periodic discrete-roughness-element (DRE) laminar-flow technology for swept wings.
o DARPA Quiet Supersonic Platform on F-15B at NASA-Dryden, wind-tunnel tests at NASA-Langley
o Air Force HiLDA/Sensorcraft program and O-2 flight tests at Texas A&M
o Collaborate with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman
7) Teamed in Rapid Analysis Tools for Transition Prediction (RATTraP with Lockheed Martin). Team developed, implemented, and validated a computationally efficient and physically accurate method to predict boundary layer transition on laminar swept wings for high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. Team provided AFRL a transition prediction capability that will enable wing design and optimization.
8) Stability and transition of hypersonic chemically reacting boundary layers. Demonstrated agreement between linear stability theory and experiments of Schneider at Purdue and Maslov in Novosibirsk. Member of AFRL X-51 Study team. Co-PI on new 5-year, $10M NASA/Air Force National Hypersonics Science Center in Laminar-Turbulent Transition.
9) Aerodynamic control of MAVs. Demonstrated through full Navier-Stokes computations that properly selected winglets can lead to improved performance over a wide range of angles-of-attack under steady conditions.
10) Reconfigurable software and hardware architectures for MAVs, and multifunctional MAV technologies. System on a chip and innovative ground control system.
11) Teamed in investigating health monitoring systems for natural laminar flow applications, with the National Institute of Aerospace and Georgia Tech.
Space - Current Projects (Texas A&M University) - AggieSat Lab Student Satellite Program - http://aggiesat.org :
1) AggieSat2 - Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division (AFMD) at Johnson Space Center (JSC) sponsoring eight-year / four-mission collaborative program between Texas A&M and University of Texas (UT) to develop autonomous rendezvous and docking (AR&D) technology demonstration. 1st launch [DragonSat/AggieSat2 (Texas A&M)/Bevo-1 (UT)] involves 5” cubesat pair launched on STS 127 (launch 15 July 2009) and released from DoD Space Test Program Space Shuttle Payload Launcher (SSPL) (release 30 July 2009) to collect JSC DRAGON GPS data. NASA Phase 0/I/II Safety Review October 2008 along with fit check into SSPL, Phase III Safety Review 25 Feb 2009, flight unit delivered to NASA 20 Feb 2009. AggieSat2 currently operating on-orbit.
2) AggieSat4 - Next mission in the NASA JSC AR&D campaign. Mission objectives will include undocking, three-axis stabilization, intersatellite communications, DRAGON characterization, and video. Launch is anticipated for early 2012.
Space - Past Projects (Arizona State University) - ASUSat Lab Student Satellite Program:
1) Three Corner Sat (3CS) - Part of University Nanosat I/II Program and joint effort among ASU (lead), University of Colorado at Boulder, and New Mexico State University. Two of three 3CS satellites launched as constellation from EELV Heavy Demonstration mission on 22 Dec 2004. Third satellite "Petey" delivered to Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, 13 March 2006. 3CS mission: MEMS micropropulsion experiment, low-cost COTS communications, imaging, distributed and automated operations, lessons learned in implementing student-satellite program
2) ASUSat1 - 6-kg nanosatellite designed by students for spectral imaging, 3-axis passive stabilization, +/-10 degree attitude determination at $1000 per satellite, GPS, autonomous operations, communications. ASUSat1 launched 26 Jan 2000 on 1st Air Force OSP Space Launch Vehicle Minotaur from Vandenberg AFB. Demonstrated that nanosatellites can be candidates for science and communications missions.
Awards and Honors
2008 - Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
2008 - Academy of Engineering Excellence, Virginia Tech
2007 - AIAA /ASEE J. Leland “Lee” Atwood Award, bestowed annually upon an aerospace engineering educator in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession
2003 - Fellow, American Physical Society
1997 - Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
