Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences

Ratneshwar (Ratan) Jha, Ph.D., Department Head and L3Harris Chair, Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Professors

Mark R. Archambault, Ph.D.; rocket combustion and propulsion, rocket fuel injector modeling, computational fluid dynamics, multiphase fluid flow, spray and particulate dynamics

Kastro M. Hamed, Ph.D.; STEM teaching and learning, physics education, teacher education, engineering education, mathematics education, financial education, learning sciences, student success, research methodologies

Marcus Hohlmann, Ph.D.; elementary particle physics: experimental high-energy physics with CMS experiment at CERN, development of particle detectors, muon tomography, cluster and grid computing

Ratneshwar (Ratan) Jha, Ph.D.; aircraft design, advanced composites modeling, elastic wave propagation, structural health monitoring

Daniel R. Kirk, Ph.D.; fluid mechanics, heat transfer, combustion, air-breathing propulsion, chemical and nuclear thermal rocket propulsion, shock tube flow experimentation, high-speed aerodynamics, internal flows, superconductivity for launch assist, spacecraft shielding, energy storage and propulsion

Jean Carlos Perez, Ph.D.; nonlinear dynamics and turbulence in space, astrophysical plasma flows

Eric S. Perlman, Ph.D.; extragalactic astrophysics: active galactic nuclei, jets, observational cosmology

Hamid K. Rassoul, Ph.D.; space physics and instrumentation: physics of planetary lightning, solar energetic particles and cosmic rays, magnetic storms and substorms, photochemistry of planetary upper atmospheres

Chelakara S. Subramanian, Ph.D., P.Eng. (U.K.); FllE, complex boundary layer flows (LDV, PIV/PDA, PSP/TSP), energy systems, film cooling, turbulence measurement/analysis low/high-speed wind tunnel testing, wireless sensor network for wind, hurricane wind monitoring

Ming Zhang, Ph.D.; space physics: cosmic radiation and interactions with the plasma and magnetic fields in the interstellar medium, the heliosphere and magnetospheres

Associate Professors

Konstantin V. Gamayunov, Ph.D.; theoretical and computational space plasma physics and data analysis and interpretation

David Harris, Ph.D.; physics education, black hole physics

Csaba Palotai, Ph.D.; comparative planetology, numerical modeling of airbursts, atmospheric dynamics and physics

Donald Platt, Ph.D.; Education Center director, Florida Tech at Spaceport; space systems

Eric Swenson, Ph.D.; spacecraft engineering, aerospace controls, space flight mechanics

Assistant Professors

Sofiane Bourouaine, Ph.D.; astrophysics, solar wind turbulence, coronal loops and wave-particle interactions

Howard Chen, Ph.D.; exoplanet atmospheres, planetary habitability, global chemistry-climate system modeling, hydrodynamic simulations, radiative transfer modeling

Danilo de Camargo Branco, Ph.D.; aerospace design and analysis, additive manufacturing, material characterization via molecular dynamics

Souvik Das, Ph.D.; experimental high-energy physics with the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, measurements of Higgs boson properties, physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, searches for large extra dimensions, development of silicon-based particle detectors, fabrication of radiation-hard materials, quantum computing, and spiking neural networks for artificial intelligence

Firat Irmak, Ph.D.; aerospace design and analysis, mechanical behavior of materials and structures

Reza Jahanbakhshi, Ph.D.; high-speed flows, turbulent flows, combustion

Kibaek Lee, Ph.D.; condensed-/gas-phase combustion, propulsion, detonation, chemical kinetics, materials modeling

Manasvi Lingam, Ph.D.; astrobiology, planetary habitability, biosignatures, classical field theory, plasma physics, black holes

Bagrat Mailyan, Ph.D.; terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, energetic emissions from thunderstorms, high energy astrophysics, neutrinoless double beta decay searches

Mirmilad Mirsayar, Ph.D.; solid mechanics, damage and fracture mechanics, advanced composites, advanced materials, additive manufacturing

Luis H. Quiroga-Nuñez, Ph.D.; stellar astrometry from space and ground-based observatories, characterization of galactic stellar populations, stellar variables and companions, exoplanet detection

Camilo A. Riano-Rios, Ph.D.; nonlinear adaptive control, spacecraft GNC, software/hardware-in-the-loop testing, robotics

Benjamin M. Sawyer, M.S.; physics education

Madhur Tiwari, Ph.D.; autonomous technologies in space and aerial systems, optimal navigation and control, learning-based control and planning, data-driven system ID, aerospace robotics, deep learning and spacecraft swarm

Donald C. Warren III, Ph.D.; supernovae and their remnants, gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows, cosmic rays and acceleration processes, virophysics, and using virtual reality as a tool for scientific visualization

Darshan Yadav, Ph.D.; mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts, structural dynamics, mechanical design

Instructors

James A. Gering, M.S.

Paul Martin, Ph.D.

Evan Smith, Ph.D.

Professors Emeriti

Joel H. Blatt, Ph.D.; James D. Patterson, Ph.D.; Paavo Sepri, Ph.D.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences is to guide the next generation of engineers and scientists into careers they will love, to understand the physics of the universe and to drive humanity’s future in the air and in space.

Research

Aerospace Engineering

Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics & Turbulence (ACFTL) Lab

Research at ACFTL focuses on addressing key technological and environmental challenges linked to transitional and turbulent fluid flows, particularly their role in momentum, heat and mass transfer. This work finds application in areas such as aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, propulsion, turbomachinery, thermal management and materials processing.

The ACFTL is dedicated to conducting high-fidelity computational studies, complemented by analytical and semi-analytical approaches. Some of the current projects include:

Predicting stability and transition phenomena in high-speed flow environments
Simulating chemically nonreacting and reacting turbulent shear flows
Developing strategies for flow control and reducing turbulent drag
Enhancing predictive simulations using data assimilation and machine learning

The numerical simulations emphasize accuracy and are designed to capture the intricate physics of fluid flow across all turbulence scales. This is achieved through the development and implementation of highly efficient, scalable algorithms optimized for large-scale parallel computing on cutting-edge high-performance platforms.

Faculty: Reza Jahanbakhshi

Modeling Advanced Energetic Materials (MAEM) Laboratory

The MAEM Lab is dedicated to modeling advanced energetic materials (EMs) for propellants and explosives to predict mechanical-thermochemical material behavior of EMs. The objectives of the lab are to provide a flexible modeling framework as a strong fundamental tool for developing advanced propellants and explosives systems. The MAEM Lab focuses on cutting-edge research through numerical studies, applying advanced computational methods to investigate complex physical phenomena and contributing to the development of novel models in a dynamic and collaborative environment.

Faculty: Kibaek Lee

Metacomposites Integrity Research Lab (MIR) Lab

The MIR Lab is dedicated to advancing the field of architectured composites through multiscale design, fabrication and experimentation, developing theories and fundamental modeling. The lab focuses on developing advanced composites with tailored material properties, functional topologies and optimized morphologies to create more durable, next-generation composite structures. To this end, the team of MIR Lab researchers explore innovative approaches in physics, mechanics, materials scienc eand engineering, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in aerospace and other critical engineering fields.

Faculty: Mirmilad Mirsayar, Ratneshwar Jha

Space Vehicles and Robotics (SVR) Lab

The SVR Lab specializes in the design, development and implementation of novel guidance navigation and control (GNC) strategies for robots and space vehicles. Research focuses on improving the reliability and robustness of critical GNC algorithms for space missions by applying nonlinear adaptive control, machine learning strategies or a combination of both. These robust algorithms are relevant for several applications in the growing space industry. The SVR Lab’s research also includes designing and building test equipment for thorough on-ground testing of the developed algorithms using state-of-the-art testbeds.

Faculty: Camilo A. Riano-Rios

The Autonomy Lab

The Autonomy Lab develops cutting-edge tools to achieve higher levels of autonomy for aerospace systems. Research in the Autonomy Lab is motivated by the prospect of what intelligent machines can achieve in the future. The collective goal is to achieve fully autonomous systems that do not rely on the traditional sensor-decision-act pipeline. Current work focuses on developing data-driven techniques that can help achieve full autonomy in aerospace systems.

Faculty: Madhur Tiwari

Physics & Space Sciences

Current research in physics includes experimental high-energy physics, instrumentation development, theoretical and observational studies of the solar/heliospheric energetic particles and cosmic rays, physics of energetic radiations from thunderstorms and lightning, auroral and magnetospheric physics, astrophysics, engineering physics and physics education.

Current research activity in space sciences includes the physics of supermassive black holes and galaxy evolution, massive stars, astrophysical jets and accretion phenomena, exoplanets, planetary science, observational cosmology, cosmic ray modulation/propagation and its interactions with the interstellar medium, energetic radiation from terrestrial and planetary lightning discharges, solar wind-magnetosphere interactions and energetic particle observations, and human space exploration research.

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Supermassive Black Holes | Human Space Exploration | Active Galactic Nuclei | Massive Stars | High-Contrast-Ratio Imaging

Astronomy and astrophysics at Florida Tech is concerned primarily with stellar astrophysics, the physics of galaxies and active galactic nuclei and the development of advanced instrumentation. Astrophysicists and students work on a wide variety of topics, including high-energy astrophysics, accretion phenomena, the physics and evolution of active galactic nuclei and their jets, observational cosmology, tests of the large and small-scale structure of our universe, compact objects, the nuclear black holes of normal and active galaxies, massive stars, binary stars, solar and stellar atmospheres, ultraviolet spectroscopy and astronomical instrumentation.

Research is conducted over a variety of different wavebands from the radio to gamma rays, including observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and XMM-Newton Observatory, as well as a wide variety of ground-based telescopes that include the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias, the Gemini Observatories, the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and many others. Members of the group are involved in the development of instrumentation for the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias and the development of high-dynamic range imagers for future use in space observatories. Members of the group are involved with the Juno, Parker Solar Probe and Voyager missions. Resources include two research labs (Astro Lab A and B) that are outfitted with Linux and Macintosh computers, astronomical data reduction packages and a wide variety of programming languages.

SARA Telescopes: Florida Tech is the founding institution for the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA). We have a 15% share in a network of three 1-meter class telescopes on the Canary Islands, at Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory.

Ortega 0.8-m Telescope: This large research telescope forms the heart of the F.W. Olin Observatory. Installed in 2007, the Ortega Telescope sits on the rooftop of the F. W. Olin Physical Sciences Center. Equipped with a large-format CCD imaging system, lucky imager and spectrograph, it is available for student and faculty astronomy, astrophysics research projects and public open nights.

Faculty: Eric Perlman, Luis Quiroga-Nunez, Donald Warren

Atmospheric Electricity & Electromagnetic Wave Propagation

The atmospheric electricity and electromagnetics group in the Geospace Physics Laboratory (GPL) works on measurements and modeling of electrical discharges and energetic radiation in Earth’s atmosphere, sensing technology development, electromagnetic wave propagation effects, lightning interaction with airborne vehicles and space launches, power lines, wind turbines and other tall objects, lightning protection and meteorological applications of lightning data. This group also collaborates with the University of Florida on X-ray measurements of natural and rocket-triggered lightning which are performed at the UF-Florida Tech International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) at Camp Blanding, Florida. Work also includes theoretical investigations of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), lightning initiation processes, runaway breakdown and thunderstorm electrification on Earth and other planets.

Faculty: Bagrat Mailyan, Hamid Rassoul

High Energy Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics

The work of the experimental high-energy particle physics (HEP) group is centered on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located at CERN and the European Center for Particle Physics in Geneva, Switzerland. This experiment is conducted by a large international collaboration of scientists making precision measurements of the laws governing the known elementary particles and the fundamental forces between them. The Florida Tech HEP group currently focuses on measurements of top quark properties and entanglement utilizing new machine-learning algorithms in addition to standard data analysis techniques. CMS also searches for new physics phenomena; here the Florida Tech HEP group is searching for dark matter particles and heavy top quark partners. On the instrumentation side, the group is involved in a major CMS upgrade to prepare the experiment for running at the high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the next phase of the LHC that is scheduled to begin operations in 2026. We are building and commissioning large GEM detectors for the CMS muon upgrade, drawing on our experience with advanced gaseous particle detectors, such as GEM and micro-RWELL detectors. The group is investigating these micropattern gas detector technologies also for tracking detectors to be employed in the new ePIC experiment at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The group operates a Linux cluster and a GPU cluster. Members of our group are often stationed at Fermilab near Chicago or at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, to conduct their research.

Faculty: Souvik Das, Marcus Hohlmann

Planetary Science and Astrobiology

The planetary science research group works in the Atmospheric Models and Plasma Simulations (AMPS) lab and Astronomy and Astrophysics Research lab at Florida Tech. Current research topics include numerical modeling of atmospheric dynamics, cloud physics and weather processes in planetary atmospheres of terrestrial, giant and exoplanets. The planetary science group also studies the atmospheric response to asteroid and comet impacts, severe stellar wind variations (e.g., ICME) and electrical discharges (e.g., lightning and TLEs) to provide insights into the formation and evolution of the solar system and support missions aimed at its exploration.

Faculty: Howard Chen, Manasvi Lingam, Csaba Palotai, Hamid Rassoul

Space Physics and Heliophysics

The space physics research group works in the Geospace Physics Laboratory (GPL) at Florica Tech. Current research topics include studying the solar-Earth magnetospheric and ionospheric interactions, cosmic ray propagation from their source in the galaxies to the interplanetary system (NASA), relativistic charged particle propagation from the Jovian magnetosphere, development of a meridional array of magnetometers up the East coast of the United States, solar wind turbulence and kinetic processes that heat and accelerate the solar corona and the solar wind. The space physics group also designs and fabricates particle and high-energy radiation detectors.

Faculty: Jean Carlos Perez, Sofiane Bourouaine, Konstantin Gamayunov, Ming Zhang

Teaching and Research Assistantships

The department offers a number of teaching and research assistantships each year. Teaching assistants participate in laboratory instruction or assisting faculty in the preparation of teaching materials and grading. Research assistants work on research projects that are often related to their own master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation investigations. Both types of assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis and provide graduate course fee remission and a stipend for living expenses. To increase the probability of receiving an assistantship, applicants are advised to apply as early as possible in the academic year prior to the requested admission.

Programs

Bachelor of Science

Nondegree

Physics Minor

Master of Science

Doctor of Philosophy