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Jason Cornelius

Pennsylvania State University

Jason Cornelius is a graduate student and National Science Foundation Fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, where he carries out research in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for the Dragonfly aircraft. Jason found his start in helicopters while studying the fundamentals with the Penn State Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence. He proceeded to spend two summers with Bell Helicopter accumulating knowledge in rotor finite element analysis, flight technology research, preliminary vehicle design, CFD, wind tunnel experimentation and simulation, and helicopter certification. Jason also participated in two internships with the NASA Ames Research Center’s Rotorcraft Aeromechanics Branch. There he studied the characteristics of quadcopter acoustics and also ran CFD simulations for the Mars 2020 parachute.

Jason has also been actively engaged outside of his studies at Penn State. He has served as Vice President for the Penn State chapter of the Vertical Flight Society, and Vice President of the Wind Energy Club that has been successful in the Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competitions.

What are some of your current projects or research interests?

"The research I am currently conducting is for the Dragonfly aircraft set to explore one of Saturn’s moons, Titan. The project involves analyzing and optimizing the full vehicle, which has four co-axial rotors. The work will provide insight into the design of the vehicle’s rotors and fuselage, improve the knowledgebase of multi-rotor performance, and provide a high fidelity tool with methodology to analyze future configurations. Outside of this research, I am also very interested in small-scale wind turbine technology. I have been carrying out blade design for the Penn State Collegiate Wind Competition Team since 2015."

Tell us about your future plans.

"I am currently conducting research toward my MS degree, after which I will pursue a PhD in rotorcraft aeromechanics. Throughout my career I will continue working to change the way the world flies, and striving to inspire those around me to run, perhaps fly, after their dreams."

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