Darin DiTommaso - Purdue Distinguished Engineering Alumni/Alumnae - Purdue University

Darin DiTommaso

Vice President, Defense and Systems Engineering, GE Aerospace
BSAAE ‘88

In total, Darin DiTommaso has 37+ years of service at GE. During his tenure with GE, he has been on teams building some of the most advanced commercial and military aircraft engines as well as avionics and power generation, distribution and control systems.

DiTommaso has been a major player in the science and technology behind the gas-turbine engines that power a significant portion of the world’s commercial air transport fleet. He was a key decision maker on the GE9X powering the Boeing 777X for its technology stack and systems architecture. He helped lead the early design of the LEAP engine powering the A320neo and 737Max, the GEnx powering the 787 and 747-8 fleet, and the Passport engine powering the Bombardier Global Express. He also advanced the company’s digital engineering team, known as one of the pioneers in using digital twins in the aerospace propulsion industry.

The company saw his promise and promoted him to his current role as the Vice President of Engineering within GE’s Aerospace Defense and Systems business, leading the design, delivery, and support of state-of-the-art propulsion, electrical power, and avionics systems. His team supports a broad fleet of turbofan and turboshaft engines powering military aircraft such as the F16, F15EX, F18, Blackhawk and Apache rotorcraft as well as the CH53K King Stallion. He has helped GE Aerospace develop the first three-stream adaptive cycle engine, and his military contributions include bringing hypersonics, hybrid electric propulsion, and modular open systems avionics architectures to the industry.

“Leading the military engineering team has resulted in a number of accomplishments in adaptive engine technology, hypersonics, hybrid electric turbogenerators, and avionics systems that serve both the civil and military spaces,” he said.

He is thankful to Purdue for laying a solid foundation in aerodynamics, mechanical design, thermodynamics, and materials, which, he says were directly applicable to his career.

“Most importantly, across all of those disciplines, was the ability and skill to apply the principles across many and varied problem sets, focusing on application and extrapolation to solve any problem presented,” DiTommaso said.

The curriculum prioritized teamwork that prepared him to solve key technical challenges and helped establish him as a knowledgeable engineer. “I learned how to sort out the critical points and where to dig in. This brought clarity of thought and focus that has allowed me to be successful throughout my career,” he said.

One of his most memorable professors was Kathleen Howell. “She was among the most demanding and the most supportive, and her orbital mechanics class was very contemporary with the beginnings of the space shuttle program,” he said.

DiTommaso previously chaired the NASA Advisory Council’s Aeronautics Committee and was a member of the NASA administrator’s Advisory Council, providing industry advice and stewarding the nations’ vision in aeronautics. He also is a strong supporter of the GE-Purdue relationship and regularly delivers lectures at Purdue, including multiple visits to the AAE400 seminar class. In 2020, he was named Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Outstanding Aerospace Engineer.

He is active in the community, has served as a board member of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and is a global sponsor for GE Aerospace’s Next Engineers program helping develop the next generation of engineers.

Career Highlights

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