Department of Aerospace Engineering

Dr. Ed Smith has been a member of the Aerospace Engineering faculty at Penn State University for fourteen years.  He also completed his Bachelor of  Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State, where he also worked as a George F. Wislicenus Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Applied research laboratory (ARL).  He attended graduate school at the University of Maryland Center for Rotorcraft Education and Research, earning  MS and PhD degrees in Aerospace Engineering.   Working under the supervision of Prof. Inderjit Chopra, Ed became engaged in research in  helicopter dynamics and composite rotor blades.  While at Maryland, he was awarded 3 Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarships from the American Helicopter Society and was an Army Research Office Graduate Rotorcraft Fellow.  After arriving back at Penn State, Dr. Smith built an active research  program in helicopter dynamics with research sponsorship from the Army Research Office (1994 Young Investigator Award), US Navy, NASA,  Boeing Helicopters, Sikorsky, Bell Helicopters and Lord Corp.

In the summer of 1995, Prof. Smith led a team of Penn State faculty members and established the Penn State Rotorcraft Center, funded by the newly formed National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC).  This Center, renewed for a second five year term in January 2001, has sparked a wide array of educational activities, new facilities, and research programs and is helping to train the next generation of rotorcraft engineers.

Dr. Smith has been active in AIAA and the American Helicopter Society (AHS).  He served on the AIAA Structural Dynamics technical committee and has participated in the AIAA SDM Conference for fifteen years.  He is a recipient of the 1994 AHS Director's Award for Outstanding contributions to vertical flight technology by an AHS Member under the age of 30.  He has also received the AHS Membership Sponsor Award three times.  He is presently the Chairman  of the AHS Education Committee and has also served as Chairman of the AHS Dynamics Technical Committee.  In 2002, Dr. Smith was awarded the Lawrence Sperry Award from the AIAA, citing his extraordinary leadership of the Rotorcraft Center, pioneering research in composite tailored rotor blades, and dedication to aerospace engineering education.  He was also awarded the 2002 Penn State Engineering Society Outstanding  Research Award.

Dr. Smith's research and teaching interests are in all aspects of helicopter dynamics, including tailored composite rotor blades, active vibration control, rotor lag damping and aeromechanical stability, shipboard helicopter operations, driveline dynamics, and anti-icing systems.  He has published with his students in the AIAA  Journal , AIAA Journal of Aircraft, Journal  of the American Helicopter Society, Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures,  Journal of Sound and Vibration, and International Journal of Solids and Structures.  Dr. Smith is an avid collector of helicopter models and hardware which can be used for teaching aides.  He has organized and led over thirty field trips and forty on-campus seminars during the past fourteen years.

Ed was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.