Purdue University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics was pleased to welcome alumnus Dr. José J. Guzmán to the department on August 27 and 28, 2014. Dr. Guzmán was on campus to visit with Dr. Kathleen Howell, his faculty advisor while earning his degrees in AAE (BSAAE’93; MSAAE’95; Ph.D.’01).

Dr. Guzmán also met with Professor James Longuski. In 2014, Dr. Longuski and Dr. Guzmán, along with fellow co-author Prof. John Prussing of the University of Illinois, published their text book, Optimal Control with Aerospace Applications. This book has met with acclaim in the field of optimal control theory in aerospace engineering.

Guzmán also was coauthor on a paper, “STEREO Trajectory and Maneuver Design,” which won the 2009 Walter G. Berl Award for Outstanding Paper in the APL Technical Digest.

Pictured at right are Dr. Longuski, Dr. Guzmán, and Dr. Howell.

Currently, Dr. Guzmán is Senior Principal Engineer in the Flight Dynamics Group at Orbital Sciences, where he has been working on the design and planning for cargo missions to the International Space Station. He is a member of the American Astronautical Society and a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Dr. Guzmán has served as a lecturer at The Johns Hopkins University and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.