Willem Anemaat

Willem A. J. Anemaat is president and co-founder of Design, Analysis and Research Corporation (DARcorporation), an aeronautical engineering and prototype development company. DARcorporation specializes in airplane design and engineering consulting services, wind and water tunnel testing and design and testing of wind energy devices. Anemaat is the software architect for the Advanced Aircraft Analysis (AAA) software, an airplane preliminary design and analysis tool. He has been actively involved with more than 400 airplane design projects and has run many subsonic wind tunnel tests for clients. Anemaat has more than 30 publications in the field of airplane design and analysis. He is the recipient of the SAE 2010 Forest R. McFarland Award, an AIAA Associate Fellow and an associate editor for the AIAA Journal of Aircraft. Anemaat is Vice-Chair of the AIAA Aircraft Design Technical Committee. Anemaat holds an M.S.A.E. degree from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from The University of Kansas.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Airplane Flight Dynamics

Prashant Chillamcharla

Prashant Chillamcharla is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designated Engineering Representative(DER) with delegations in 14 CFR Part 23 and 14 CFR Part 25 in the areas of Structures, Major Repairs, Major Alterations and Cabin Safety. In addition, he holds delegations of a structures and cabin safety Unit Member on several Organization Designation Authorizations (ODA). Chillamcharla embarked on his aerospace journey after earning a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Wichita State University. He has been in the industry for over two decades and during his tenure has held various key positions which involved managing and supporting several certification programs ranging from TSO, STC, PMA and Major Alterations. Having worked both in the private business jet sector and commercial airlines sector, he has gained valuable experience and insights in both areas of the industry. His industry experience brings a practical perspective to his teaching, allowing students to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Cabin Safety and Crashworthiness of Aircraft Cabin Interiors

George Cusimano

George Cusimano is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Vector LLC aviation consulting services. He is a flight test engineer and educator with more than 40 years of experience in research, development, and test of important leading edge technologies. He has flight-tested complex systems, such as the F-117, B-2, X-33 (single stage to orbit prototype), DarkStar UAV and X-35 (Joint Strike Fighter prototype). In addition to multiple postings as a flight test engineer, George was: the Director of Test and Evaluation for the F-117 System Program Office; the Chief of Flight Test Engineering for the B-2 Combined Test Force; the Deputy Director of the Joint STARS Combined Test Force; and the Director of Flight Test at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. George has also taught at the National Test Pilot School and has served as a Technical Advisor to the United States Air Force. He retired from the United States Air Force as a colonel after 24 years of service. George holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in industrial engineering from Arizona State University. He is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School and a Fellow of the Society of Flight Test Engineers.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Flight Testing Unmanned Aircraft Systems - Unique Challenges

Travis Dahna

Travis Dahna is the Principal member and Electrical Systems and Equipment DER for TD Aerospace, LLC, a professional aerospace engineering design and certification company based in Kansas. He started his career over 25 years ago as an avionics technician and troubleshooter in the United States Navy, where he served with distinction and was honorably discharged. As a Gulf War Veteran, Mr. Dahna joined the civilian aviation sector where he has worked on, designed, and certified a wide variety of new products and articles for the last 20 years. He has held positions as a senior electrical engineer for a large aircraft manufacturer and served as the Certification Coordinator for all the factory owned service/modification centers in the United States, providing all interface with the geographic FAA Aircraft Certification Offices for all standard certification STC projects. Following his time at the aircraft manufacturer, he assisted in the development of an STC ODA for a consulting company and held the position as the Principal Certification Engineer, while also training as an alternate ODA administrator.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: FAA Type Certification Process

Albert Helfrick

Albert Helfrick is Professor Emeritus and former chair of the electrical and systems engineering department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Previously, he was director of engineering for Tel-Instrument Electronics, a manufacturer of avionics test equipment. Before entering academia, he was a self-employed consulting engineer for four years where he and his company designed fire and security systems, consumer items and avionics. He has more than 50 years of experience in various areas of engineering including communications, navigation, precision testing and measurement, radar and security systems. He performed radiation hardening on military avionics, designed test equipment for the emerging cable television industry, designed general aviation avionics for Cessna Aircraft and precision parameter measuring and magnetic systems for Dowty Industries. Helfrick is the author of 12 books, numerous contributions to encyclopedias, handbooks and other collections. He has more than 100 technical papers and presentations, served as an expert witness in a number of civil cases and testified before Congress. He holds five U.S. patents, is a registered professional engineer in New Jersey, a Life Senior Member of the IEEE, and an associate fellow of the AIAA. Helfrick has received the AIAA Dr. John Ruth Digital Avionics award. He holds a B.S. in physics from Upsala College, M.S. in mathematics from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in applied science from Clayton University.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Advanced Avionics

George Meier

George Meier is an FAA Software DER currently working at Woodward, Inc., and a unit member of the Textron ODA. He began his career as an avionics technician for the USAF working on aircraft during the Vietnam era. Meier holds a BSCS degree from National University, graduating magna cum laude in 1999. He was delegated as a consulting software DER by the FAA in 2006. Meier has worked a wide variety of both fixed wing and rotorcraft avionics systems and brings a wide combination of practical experience, analytical knowledge, and in-depth certification experience with a unique and viable approach to airborne software certification in an uncomplicated yet thorough manner.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: DO-178C: Airborne Software Principles and Practices

Steven L. Morris

Steven L. Morris is a Principal and Manager of Colorado Operations for Engineering Systems Inc. (ESI), Colorado Springs, Colorado. Morris served as an officer and engineer in the U.S. Air Force for more than 24 years. His experience includes teaching, research and consulting in the areas of airplane design, stability and control, aerodynamics, flight simulation, aircraft icing and accident reconstruction. He is a co-author of Introduction to Aircraft Flight Mechanics: Performance, Static Stability, Dynamic Stability, and Classical Feedback Control. Morris is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and is a member and past Chair of the SAE Aircraft Icing Technology Committee. He received a B.S. in engineering sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Aircraft Icing: Meteorology, Protective Systems, Instrumentation and Certification

Dennis C. Philpot

Mr. Philpot is the Northrop Grumman, Advanced Weapons Division Chief Structural Engineer across all missile programs including AARGM, AARGM-ER and SiAW; in that role he leads or oversees all of the technical/analytical aspects of hardware design development and works with the design team to help ensure that all aspects of the product meet requirements. Mr. Philpot has held many roles in missile development, including Section Head for mechanical analysis, Test Director for the AARGM Environmental Qualification Testing, Mechanical Analysis Lead AARGM missile integration on the Tornado aircraft for the Italian and German Airforce, IPT Lead for AARGM ER FEDA Program Aerodynamics, Modeling & Simulation, Mechanical Design and Internal Loads and Static Strength Analysis, MSST Mechanical Analysis Lead, Structural Dynamics Lead and Technical Advisor to the Jordan Multirole Combat Aircraft JLG & JMCA Programs, Technical Lead on the Hyper-Velocity Projectile (HVP) Program, based out of Plymouth, MN, Structural Analysis SME for all advanced programs that require that skill set at Northrop Grumman, Advanced Weapons Division. Beginning in January 2020, Mr. Philpot was formally recognized as a subject matter expert, by being designated as an NGC Technical Fellow, and is currently serving out the second two-year term in that role. An internationally-recognized expert in aerospace structural analysis, Mr. Philpot has been teaching post-graduate courses on Stress Analysis and Structural Dynamics in the greater Los Angeles area, Seattle, WA, Orlando, FL, and on-site at The Boeing Company, Northrop-Grumman, NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, NASA-Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, FL, Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, UT, the Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, NM, Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, FL, Aviation and Missile Research, Development, Engineering Center at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL, United States Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, MD, and at ST Aerospace in Singapore. At the 50th AIAA/ASME /ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Mr. Philpot was honored to present a special two-day seminar on Structural Dynamics in Mechanical Design at the Palm Springs Convention Center/Wyndham Palm Springs. The KU Aerospace public courses are very international in nature, attracting students from Austria, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Turkey, The Netherlands, China, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico and, of course, the United States of America. Mr. Philpot holds two US Patents and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Stress Analysis for Aerospace Structures

Wayne R. Sand

Wayne R. Sand is an aviation weather consultant with expertise in aircraft icing tests, analysis of icing accidents and development of icing instrumentation. He also has extensive expertise in convective weather, winter weather and mountain weather. As former deputy director of the Research Applications Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, he developed aviation weather technology for the FAA. Previously, Sand was a member of the atmospheric science department at the University of Wyoming. He also conducted research on thunderstorms and convective icing while at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Sand is co-holder of a patent on a technique for the remote detection of aircraft icing conditions. He holds a B.S. in mathematics and physical science from Montana State University, an M.S. in meteorology from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and a Ph.D. in atmospheric science from the University of Wyoming.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Aircraft Icing: Meteorology, Protective Systems, Instrumentation and Certification

Pascal Thalin

Pascal Thalin is a Senior Aerospace Expert and Instructor with Aero Mobility, a company engaged with engineering and development of advanced air mobility solutions. In various leadership roles with aircraft, engine and system manufacturers, he has gained longstanding experience in R&D, certification, program management, and business development of power, propulsion, actuation, and avionics systems for a wide range of aircraft. He is a long-standing member of SAE in aeronautics, serving in several key committee roles related to air mobility, including leading standardization. As for sustainable solutions for aerospace, spanning across key topics such as electrification, and alternative fuels including Sustainable Alternative Fuels (SAF) and Hydrogen, his primary focus is on how to best support industry efforts in the lead-up to net-zero carbon emissions in the foreseeable future. This includes helping address challenges coming with wider uptake of SAF, leapfrog hydrogen-based powertrains, and related infrastructure. This also includes synergistic approaches with other mobility sectors. For conventional, hybrid-electric and electric aircraft, along with sustainable aviation in general, he is committed to optimized solutions in design, certification, operations, and business. His publications include the book Fundamentals of Electric Aircraft, which offers in-depth insights into innovative architectures and technologies enabling aircraft electrification. Pascal holds an engineering degree from INP-ENSEEIHT, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France.

2025 Aerospace Short Course: Hydrogen-based Aircraft and Airports: Concepts, Technologies, and Configurations