David Willis

Expertise

Research Interests

Computational and Experimental Aerodynamics: Development and application of effective multi-fidelity computational aerodynamics modeling tools, biologically inspired flight, energy conversion, fabric permeability, fluid-structure interactions.

Renewable Energy: Wind energy conversion, hydrogen storage.

Engineering Education: STEM Education, Motivation, Adult Development

Education

• Ph.D: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, (2006), Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, Massachusetts
• SM: Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, (2003), Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, Massachusetts
• BEng: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, (2000), Carleton University - Ottawa, Canada

Selected Awards and Honors

• Dean's Honour List - Carleton University
• Faculty Scholarship, Scholarship/Research - Carleton University
• ASEE-SFFP Summer Faculty Fellow (2012) - Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base
• SGA College of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (2012), Teaching - University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA
• Mechanical Engineering Department Teaching Excellence Award (2010), Teaching - University of Massachusetts Lowell
• US Association of Computational Mechanics (USACM) Postdoctoral and Young Investigator Travel Fellowship (2008) - 8th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, held in Venice, Italy
• First Place, Informational Graphics Category, Science Magazine (2007) - NSF Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge
• Graduate Fellowship (2004) - PGS-B Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Graduate Fellowship
• Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement (2000) - Carleton University
• Commissioner's Commendation (1999) - Canadian Coast Guard
• Rolls-Royce Scholarship (1999) - Carleton University
• Virginia B. Covey Bursary (1996)

Selected Publications

• D.J.Willis, J.Peraire and J.K.White,A Combined pFFT-Multipole Tree Code, Unsteady Panel Method with Vortex Particle Wakes, International Journal of Numerical Methods in Fluids, Vol. 53, Number 8, Pages 1399-1422, March 2007.
• H. Salehipour, and D.J. Willis, A coupled kinematics-energetics model for predicting energy efficient flapping flight, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Volume 318, Pages 173-196, February 2013.
• D.J. Willis, Using Enriched Basis Functions for Automatically Handling Wake-Body Intersections in Source-Doublet Potential Panel Methods, Submitted to the Journal of Aircraft, August 2013.
• F. Azhar, K. Tite, S.P. Johnston, C.J.Hansen, S. Shina, A. Schiano, and D.J.Willis, Hands-On MADE 4 ME: Deploying, using, developing and evaluating desktop computer numerical control (CNC) systems in the engineering classroom, presented at the 2016 ASEE National Conference, New Orleans, LA, June 2016.
• N. Rondeau, K. J. Desabrais, G. Barlow , J. Luna, E. Morrison, D. J. Willis, Parachute Fabric Permeability under Short vs. Long Term Humidity Conditioning Effects in a Controlled Lab Environment, Paper presented at the 24th AIAA ADS Conference, Denver, CO, June 2017.
• D. J. Willis, M. I. Anwar, R. Gowda, F. H. Manar, A. R. Jones, An Unsteady Doublet Lattice Method for Studying LEV Development on Low-Re Wings with Leading Edge Compliance with Experimental Comparison, AIAA 2018-0312, Presented at the 56th SCITECH conference, Orlando, FL.
• Traylor, C., Inalpolat, M., Willis, D. J., & Persson, P. O. (2023). Aeroacoustics-Based Structural Health Monitoring of Airfoils with Surface Damage and Domain Coupling. AIAA Journal, 61(11), 5187-5190.
• Barry, C. P., Olson, B. G., Willis, D. J., Bergeron, K., Charrette, C., Noetscher, G. M., & Sherwood, J. A. (2024). The experimental characterization of the torsional and transverse stiffnesses of a braided parachute suspension line. Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics.

Selected Presentations

• UML Wind Energy Conference
• Improving the Aerodynamics of A Skeleton Sled - 2012 ISEE Conference, 2012
• Improving the Aerodynamics of A Skeleton Sled - 2012 Student Research Symposium, 2012 - Lowell, MA
• Computational and Experimental Fluid Dynamics Research at UML, November 2012 - Lowell, MA
• Energetics in Aerodynamics, October 2012
• Computational and Experimental Fluid Dynamics Research at UML - Cooper Perkins Engineering Consultants, 2011
• Biologically Inspired Flight - AFRL-RQSE, November 2011 - Wright Patterson Air Force Base
• UMass Lowell Provosts Discussion Dinner on the First Year Experience, 2010 - Lowell, MA
• Computation for Understanding (aero-structural aspects of ) Biologically Inspired Flight - International Micro Aerial Vehicle 2009 (iMAV 09) competition, June 2009 - Pensacola Florida
• Computation for Understanding Biologically Inspired Flight - Presented at Giant Leaps MIT: MIT's 40th Anniversary Celebration of the 1969 Apollo Moon Landing, June 2009
• Computational modeling of the aeromechanics of a bat (Cynopterus brachyotis), January 2009
• Using Computation to Understand Biologically Inspired Flight, January 2009 - National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Using Computation to Understand Biologically Inspired Flight, September 2008
• Boundary Element Methods for the Preliminary Design, Analysis and Optimization of Compliant Flapping Wings - WCCM-Eccomas, July 2008 - Venice, Italy
• High Order Discontinuous Galerkin Methods, Algorithms and Applications - Unstructured Grid Technology for CFD, March 2008 - Eglin, FL
• Multi-fidelity Computational Investigations of Biologically Inspired Flapping Flight, March 2008 - The Catholic University of America
• Multi-fidelity Computational Investigations of Biologically Inspired Unsteady Aerodynamics, February 2008 - Loyola Marymount University
• Computational Design and Analysis of Flapping Wing Vehicles, February 2008 - Arlington Catholic high School
• A Multi-fidelity Framework for Modeling Biologically Inspired Flapping Flight - 14th International Conference for Finite Elements in Flow Problems, 2007 - Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Examining the exploitation of passive structural compliance in apping wings - 4th Massachusetts Institute of Technology Conference on Fluid and Solid Mechanics, 2007 - Boston, Massachusetts
• Invention, Innovation and Science in your Daily Life, December 2007 - John D. Runkle Elementary School
• Aeroelasticity, Bat Flight and Computations - John Dugundji's Visiting Aeroelasticians, MIT, October 2007 - Boston, MA
• Examining and Understanding Flapping Flight: A Convergence of Biology, Engineering and Computer Science, September 2007 - Brown University
• Computational Investigations of Biologically Inspired Flapping Flight - ACDL Seminar, April 2007 - MIT
• Computational Investigations of Biologically Inspired Flapping Flight, February 2007 - Smith College
• A Computational Framework for Investigating Parameter Dependence in Flapping Flight - 7th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, 2006 - Los Angeles, California
• Parametric Dependencies in Aero-Elastic, Articulated, Flapping Flight - American Physical Society, 59th Annual Meeting of the DFD, 2006 - Tampa, Florida

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

• ENG-ED 4.0: Educating the Next Generation of Engineers to Drive the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Davis Educational Foundation.
• Collaborative Research: Leading Edge Vortex Evolution on Compliant Biologically-Inspired Wings, National Science Foundation (PI: A. Jones, University of Maryland).
• Team UML-WIND 2016 (Collegiate Wind Competition), National Renewable Energy Lab (selected as 1 of 14 national teams in 2016).
• 2015 Wind Energy Research Workshop, National Science Foundation.
• Hands-on MADE 4 ME (Hands-on Machining, Analysis and Design Experiences for Mechanical Engineering), National Science Foundation.