AAE adds research assistant professor
Brandon Chynoweth was added as a research assistant professor in AAE this summer and is leading the design and construction of the Purdue University Mach-8 Quiet Tunnel.
In addition to being co-principal investigator with AAE Professor Steve Schneider on the Mach-8 Quiet Tunnel development, Chynoweth also helps conduct executive testing for the Department of Defense, its contractors and national laboratories in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel.
His research interests include high-speed wind tunnel testing and instrumentation, and hypersonic boundary layer transition and its aerothermodynamic effects on flight vehicles.
In his previous role as a research scholar in AAE, Chynoweth (MSAAE ’15, PhD AAE ’18) worked on several different projects while waiting for the Mach-8 funding to be put in place. He was promoted to his current role in June 2020. Now, as a research assistant professor, Chynoweth can independently advise graduate students and submit proposals for future funding of the new wind tunnel.
“When I started my MS/PhD eight years ago, I never would have thought I would get the chance to build a new hypersonic test facility,” said Chynoweth, who had Schneider as an advisor throughout graduate school. “Becoming an assistant research professor provides me with the opportunity to design, construct and operate a world class hypersonic quiet wind tunnel at Purdue University. It is a research project to develop a test facility that will allow us to perform applied research that can significantly impact future hypersonic flight systems and provide an opportunity for students to interact with industry partners.”