Amrutur V. Anilkumar
Mark Dalton Faculty Director of Experiential Learning in Aerospace Engineering
- Professor of the Practice of Aerospace Engineering
- Professor of the Practice of Mechanical Engineering
- Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics
Professor Amrutur Anilkumar is a Space Scientist, Aerospace Engineering Educator, and Chair of the AIAA Technical Committee on Reusable Launch Vehicles and Space Entry Systems. His research and technical interests are in the areas of aero-propulsion, design of launch vehicles and payload systems, energy conversion devices, and in microgravity materials processing.
He has been a scientific investigator of microgravity fluid physics and materials processing transport phenomena on experiments conducted on Space Shuttle Flights and on the International Space Station. In 2007, Dr. Anilkumar founded the Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory which is at the forefront of the design of novel, rocket-flyable, payload systems that highlight major challenges in space exploration and energy conversion. Dr. William Emfinger, Adjunct Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and CTO of ATDev, a mobility Assist Company, collaborates with Dr. Anilkumar on flight-based projects, bringing in a EE & CS perspective to the Missions.