William Alexander Dean

Supporting the development of the Fly-by-Wire (FBW) flight control system on the EL9 hybrid electric eSTOL (electric short takeoff and landing) aircraft.

Control laws and handling qualities engineer on an eVTOL aircraft for Urban Air Mobility (UAM).

Flight Controls Engineer developing guidance and control laws on the Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) vehicle. APT is an electric tailsitter UAV designed to transport 70 lbs of payload. Responsibilities and accomplishments included: - Design of a propulsion-aero surface trim transfer algorithm - Design and deployment of an automated forward-flight-to-hover conversion sequence - Design of a linear Dynamic Inversion speed loop controller ~ Performed system identification, gain optimization, control law code update, and performance and stability analysis - Design and deployment of an algorithm to minimize wind impact on attitude - Implemented and assessed comprehensive aircraft control laws including classical and modern features, enabling multiple manual and autonomous control modes - Developed signal injection function for control law analysis and system identification

As a Systems Engineer in the Guidance, Navigation and Control Center (GNC) my responsibilities include all requirements, trade studies, algorithm designs and performance analyses required to develop Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS) products that navigate and guide successfully. The Center's scope includes aerodynamic analysis, wind tunnel testing and model development: flight control system design and analysis; servo and control actuation system design and analysis; strap down and GPS aided navigation system design and analysis; target state estimation, midcourse and terminal guidance design optimization as well as system performance analysis.

Research assistant in the Autonomous Vehicle Laboratory - Optic flow algorithm development and analysis - MEMS development and integration onto micro-air vehicle control platforms - Micro-air vehicle test assistance Teaching assistant for Aircraft Flight Dynamics (ENAE403) Both positions were under the advising of Dr. James Sean Humbert

- Assisted project engineers with wind tunnel tests and data analysis - Reduced data from high-frequency pressure transducers - Presented work at a student research presentation event and to the facility employees

M.S. in Aerospace Engineering with thesis option, Focus in flight dynamics and controls, Thesis topic on state estimation and gust rejection using bio-inspired flow sensing