Aerospace Engineering Seminar Series: Mark Lewis "The Past and Future History of Hypersonic Flight"

Speaker Bio: Dr. Mark J. Lewis is president and CEO of the Purdue Applied Research Institute, Purdue University’s applied research arm focused on national, economic and agriculture security. A renowned aerospace researcher and former Pentagon chief scientist, he previously served as acting deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, overseeing a $17 billion modernization portfolio. Before joining Purdue, he led the National Defense Industrial Association’s Emerging Technologies Institute and earlier directed the Science and Technology Policy Institute. Lewis is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, where he spent 25 years advancing hypersonics and aerospace research. An MIT graduate and author of more than 320 publications, he has advised national leaders and earned numerous top civilian and professional honors.

Abstract: Hypersonic flight, referring to flight in excess of about five times the speed of sound, has many military and civilian applications, ranging from nearly unstoppable weapons to globe-spanning aircraft. While the first human-made hypersonic vehicles were flown in the late 1940’s, the field has experienced a long history of on-again, off-again development cycles, Every few years a new, often overly-ambitious program has begun, only to fail or be cancelled. Despite inventing the discipline and doing most of the early research and development work, the United States finds itself today in the position of having peer competitor nations that have surpassed us in many ways, building and deploying actual hypersonic weapons while our programs are stuck in the development and demonstration phase. This talk will present some of the history of hypersonics, review some of the key technical challenges and accomplishments, and describe current efforts in the United States and elsewhere. Top research needs will also be discussed, with an eye towards testing, evaluation, and programmatic choices impacting U.S. leadership in the field.