"My education and experiences as a graduate student at Purdue were instrumental in shaping my professional career. I am humbled to have my professional impacts recognized from the same School that gave me the skills and knowledge to achieve them.”
Brad Wheaton has contributed extensively to hypersonic aerothermodynamics through work that integrates computational modeling with ground and flight experimentation to improve prediction of boundary‑layer transition and aerothermal effects.
At the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), he guides science and technology efforts across hypersonics and related domains. His work emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches that combine advanced simulations with experimental data to address complex aerodynamic and thermal challenges.
Wheaton is best known for leading the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT) flight experiment program. As principal investigator, he has coordinated more than 110 APL staff and a network of government, academic, industry, and international partners to design, test, and execute multiple hypersonic flight experiments. Following an anomalous first flight, he led a team to conduct modeling and analysis that identified the root cause and informed the successful BOLT‑1B mission in 2024, which reached Mach 7.2 and generated over 400 high‑value scientific measurements.
His earlier work includes foundational research in Purdue’s Mach‑6 Quiet Tunnel, producing first‑of‑its‑kind measurements of roughness‑induced instabilities. He also designed test campaigns in support of national programs.
Throughout his career, Wheaton mentored students and early‑career engineers, and sustained partnerships across the hypersonics community. He is an AIAA Associate Fellow and recipient of APL’s Outstanding Mission Accomplishment award as part of the BOLT‑1B team.