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.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Principles of Aerospace Engineering

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.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Cabin Safety and Crashworthiness of Aircraft Cabin Interiors

Travis L. 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.

He has been actively involved in several hundred certification projects, ranging from TC, STC, PMA, and Major Alterations. In addition to duties as a consultant DER (14 CFR Part 23 and 25), including major alterations, he holds positions as a unit member on several TC and STC Organization Designation Authorizations (ODA). Mr. Dahna's combination of practical experience, analytical knowledge, and in-depth certification experience brings a unique and viable approach to aircraft certification in an uncomplicated yet thorough manner.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Introduction to FAA Airworthiness Approval Requirements

William Norton

William J. Norton is retired from a flight test engineering career that spanned 40 years, including 20 as a US Air Force officer. He has held numerous positions in many organizations on dozens of aerospace programs spanning all aircraft types. He has penned scores of technical papers, 20 books, and a multitude of magazine articles. Bill holds a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering and has taught courses at the college-level. He is a civil pilot with numerous ratings, restored and operated a DHC-1 Chipmunk, and built and flight-tested a Rutan Long-EZ. Bill is married to the lovely and talented Anya Victoria Eriksson.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Flight Testing Unmanned Aircraft Systems - Unique Challenges

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.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Stress Analysis for Aerospace Structures

C. Bruce Stephens

C. Bruce Stephens is an FAA DER/EUM in the areas of EME, HIRF, Lightning, Fuel Systems, Structures and EWIS. His aircraft certification experience includes Beechcraft Starship, King Air, Bonanza, Baron, Hawker 4000, Hawker 800XP, Premier 1, JPATS, Learjet Model 45/75, Cessna Citation Latitude, and military projects related to Boeing 707, 737, 747, 767 KC-46A Tanker, and 777. Stephens continues to work on Part 27 and 29 rotorcrafts (MH139 Grey Wolf), and space vehicle certification projects. He has assisted several smaller companies with FAA EME certification projects and is interested in the certification requirements related to new EVTOL Aircraft. Stephens enjoys mentoring new FAA delegates and instructing several courses he has developed for The University of Kansas Aerospace Short Course program. These courses include HIRF, Lightning, EWIS, EZAP, DO-160, Fuel Systems, Introduction to EME, and EME Aircraft Testing/Certification. Stephens has been a Six-Sigma/Lean Master Black Belt consultant with experience in both aircraft and copper mining process improvement. He has instructed over 25 college courses, most being MBA level, including MBA Statistics, MBA Business Management, MBA Operations Management, MBA Six Sigma/Lean Production Management, Supply Chain Management, Six Sigma/Lean Black Belt and Green Belt. Universities Stephens has instructed at include Webster University, Friends University, Embry Riddle University, Southwestern College, Newman University and The University of Phoenix. He has an executive M.B.A. and M.S. in Management from Friends University and a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Wichita State University.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Introduction to Electromagnetic Effects (EME) and Aircraft Engineering Requirements

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.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Hydrogen-based Aircraft and Airports: Concepts, Technologies, and Configurations

Pierre Trudel

Pierre Trudel is a System Safety Engineer and ODA Unit Member currently working for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). He brings 29 years of system safety, systems engineering, and reliability experience in several segments of our aerospace industry. He has worked system safety, reliability, and systems engineering on airplanes, rotorcrafts, and space vehicles. He has experience with commercial and military system safety, Development Assurance practices. He developed companywide processes to facilitate product development and compliance to commercial airworthiness standards and military requirements. He has worked system safety for both equipment suppliers and as an integrator for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Pierre has worked system safety using several industry accepted processes including SAE ARP4761, SAE ARP4754, and MIL-STD-882 to satisfy safety requirements for Part 23 (small aircrafts), Part, 25 (Transport Category Aircraft) and MIL-HDBK-516 (Airworthiness Certification Criteria). His certification experience as an FAA representative spans the spectrum of TC, ATC, and STC projects on commercial projects such as the Hawker 4000, Hawker 800XP, Premier 1, Cessna CJ4, Citation Latitude, Citation Sovereign, Citation X, KC-46A (767 Tanker), and several other aircraft models and types. Pierre holds a Bachelor of Science in Space Sciences with minors in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Advanced Topics in System Safety for Commercial Certification

Roelof Vos

Roelof Vos is an assistant professor at the Aerospace Engineering Department of Delft University of Technology. He teaches undergraduate courses in conceptual airplane design and two graduate courses on aerodynamic design of transport aircraft and fighter aircraft. He obtained an MSc degree from Delft University of Technology and a Ph.D. degree from The University of Kansas. His research focuses on the development of physics-based analysis methods for the conceptual design of unconventional aircraft and on the assessment of emerging aviation technologies.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: Aerodynamic Design of Military Aircraft

Tae Yoon

Tae Yoon is an Electrical Systems and Equipment FAA DER with authorization in Electrical Systems, HIRF/Lightning, and EWIS. Yoon has 24 years of experience in aircraft design, development, manufacturing, certification, and field service with prior work experience at Boeing, Honda Aircraft, Northrop Grumman, and Sikorsky Aircraft. Over his career, he gained experience in all phases of aircraft and systems development and certification projects, ranging from early concept design to development, certification, and post- certification field service engineering. In addition to his experience as an FAA Systems and Equipment DER and Technical Manager, Yoon has also worked in factory floor/laboratory settings as a design and MRB support engineer/lab test engineer early in his career. He has designed and managed requirements on Electrical Wiring Interconnect Systems, electrical power systems, lithium-ion battery systems, electrical bonding and grounding of systems in composite and aluminum airframe from an early concept stage, and developed, validated, and verified various aircraft systems and electromagnetic engineering requirements. As for Yoon's other endeavors, he works as a certification and engineering consultant in the electric aviation industry and teaches aircraft system safety (per ARP4761) and systems engineering (ARP4754) courses. He has a passion for teaching and mentoring young engineers in the aviation field. Yoon graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering on the dean's list.

2026 Aerospace Short Course: High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) Certification and Compliance