JA
Ph.D. Candidate
Jackson Asiatico
Rotor-fuselage interactions for aircraft; space exploration rotorcraft ground operations
Space and Planetary Aerodynamics
Dragonfly/Titan aerodynamics, low-gravity flows, rotorcraft operations in extraterrestrial atmospheres, landing environments, and very-low-Earth-orbit aerodynamics.
Related Projects
active2018–2026 (multiple phases)
Dragonfly Fuselage
Aerodynamic design and analysis supporting the fuselage of NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft lander, which will fly to Saturn's moon Titan. CFAL's work spans rotor-fuselage interaction, heatshield/backshell separation aerodynamics, in-ground-effect and outwash/saltation behavior on Titan's surface, and wind-tunnel uncertainty quantification.
NASA (subcontract through Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)
active2024–2027
BRITE PIVOT
Development of functional, light-matter-interaction-based sensors manufactured and characterized in low-gravity and microgravity space environments, in support of in-space manufacturing capability.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
completed2021–2022
Lens-Free Imaging in Microgravity
Development of lens-free imaging (LFI) methods to measure microfluidic fluid flow and its effect on bone cell activity under altered-gravity conditions, including a suborbital flight demonstration.
NASA (subcontract IMEC); Florida High Tech Corridor (FHTC); UCF Office of Research Commercialization (ORC)
completed2021–2023
STEM Readiness in Space Technology
Education and outreach project building STEM readiness pathways toward careers in space technology.
NASA
Students & Researchers
TP
Ph.D. Candidate · NSF-GRFP Fellow · ISSNL Fellow
Taylor Peterson
Gauging cislunar fluid transfer of phase-changing fuels; cryogenics in microgravity
EC
Ph.D. Candidate
Edward Clutter
A fundamental model of heatshield release aerodynamics (Dragonfly / Titan)
SG
Ph.D. Candidate (M.S. to Ph.D. track)
Sagar Gharti
Microgravity fluidics; droplet levitation and space biology
BC
DN
SR
EB
Undergraduate Researcher
Ethan Bratt
RCS thruster damage to satellites and plume-surface interaction modeling
Selected Publications
2026
A Semi-Empirical Model of the Heatshield Separation: Application to Titan
EG Clutter, M Kinzel, P do Vale Pereira
AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum, 0702, 2026
2026
CFD Analysis of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurements on Planetary Rotorcraft
J Asiatico, M Kinzel
2026
Characterizing UV Resin Curing With Additives Under Simulated Microgravity for In-Space Manufacturing
P Jantananont, E Förster, M Kinzel, S Raghavan
AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum, 1047, 2026
2026
A Numerical Study of In-Ground Effect Aerodynamics and Sediment Entrainment for the Dragonfly Lander
JT Asiatico, M Kinzel
AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum, 0027, 2026
2026
A Novel Bone Shield to Improve Skeletal Health during Space Exploration and for Disuse Conditions on Earth
F Wei, C Ngo, CJ Neal, E Kolanthai, JD Schwartzman, M Omer, J Dore, et al.
Advanced Healthcare Materials 15 (16), e03961, 2026
2026
Numerical Analysis of Surface Interactions and Sediment Transport for a Rotorcraft Lander on Titan
J Asiatico, M Marques, M Kinzel, R Lorenz
Vertical Lift Aircraft Design and Aeromechanics Specialists Conference, San …, 2026
2026
A Novel Bone Shield to Improve Skeletal Health during Space Exploration and for Disuse Conditions on Earth (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 16/2026)
F Wei, C Ngo, CJ Neal, E Kolanthai, JD Schwartzman, M Omer, J Dore, et al.
Advanced Healthcare Materials 15 (16), e71074, 2026
2026
Effects of containerless curing through in situ characterization with acoustic levitation to advance manufacturing of nanocomposites in microgravity
P Jantananont, E Levenson, C Benmore, M Kinzel, S Raghavan
Journal of visualized experiments, 2026