H.G. Heinrich Parachute Systems Short Course
June 4-9, 2023
Renaissance Portsmouth-Norfolk Waterfront Hotel
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Speaker Bios
Senior Engineer, Exploration Systems Engineering Branch, NASA's Langley Research Center
Juan R. Cruz, Ph.D., is an aerospace engineer who played an instrumental role in the design and development of the Mars exploration Rover (MER) and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) parachute system.
Cruz is a senior aerospace engineer in the Exploration Systems Engineering Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. His responsibilities are focused on research and development of entry, descent, and landing (EDL) systems for robotic and human exploration missions. He was a member of the highly successful Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Mars Science laboratory (MSL) projects that placed rovers on the surface of Mars in 2004 and 2012. His contributions to the MER and MSL projects centered on the design and qualification of the supersonic parachute. In October 2004 he was among a group of scientists who received an “Exceptional Achievement Award,” from NASA.
Wikipedia
Senior Aerospace Engineer for Parachute Systems, Naval Air Warfare Center
Mike Petersen is a Senior Aerospace Engineer for Parachute Systems, Naval Air Warfare Center. He currently serves as the Senior Engineer and Deputy Technical Warrant Holder for all Navy personnel parachute systems and also supports recovery systems for remotely piloted aircraft, experimental vehicles, and other systems. He has also
supported the development and testing of several parachute systems for NASA and JPL.
Mr. Petersen currently serves as the Chair of the AIAA Aeronautical Decelerator Systems Technical Committee and has previously served as Secretary and Awards Subcommittee Chair. As TC Chair, he has spearheaded the development of a new design guide wiki to document advancements in the state of the art of parachute systems over the past 30 years.
This is Mr. Petersen’s first year as a Short Course instructor and he would like to dedicate his sessions to his esteemed colleague and giant in the parachute community, Dean Wolf, himself a longtime instructor at the Short Course.
Professor, Department of Physics, Saint Louis University
Dr. Potvin is a Professor of Physics at Saint Louis University, Saint Louis Missouri USA. He is a graduate of Universite Laval (Quebec City, Canada) where he got a BS Physics degree (1978), and of the University of Colorado-Boulder where he got a PhD, also in Physics (1985). Between 1991 and 2015, Jean was an active skydiver logging over 2687 parachute jumps. He is also a FAA-rated Senior parachute rigger.
Dr. Potvin has been involved in the study of parachute physics and aerodynamics since 1994, focusing mainly on inflation modeling. He has consulted on parachute matters for NASA, the US Army and several engineering firms. His published contributions to the parachute Engineering field can be found here.
Principal Engineer, Vorticity Ltd.
John is the Principal Engineer at Vorticity Ltd, an engineering consultancy specializing in Entry, Descent and Landing Systems; particularly for space missions.
He has worked in the parachute field for over 30 years. He was responsible for system analysis and wind tunnel testing of the three- parachute system for the NASA / ESA Huygens probe to Titan which performed successfully on arrival in January 2005 after an 8-year flight.
Mr. Underwood also worked on parachute systems for Martin-Baker ejection seats and several Mars landers, as well as leading many parachute research programmes for both European and US customers.
Over the last three decades his work has involved all aspects of parachute system development including systems analysis, parachute design, wind tunnel and flight testing, multi-body simulations and CFD / FSI modelling.
Principal Engineer, Pioneer Aerospace Corporation, ASR - Pioneer
John W. Watkins is currently Principal Engineer at the Pioneer Aerospace Corporation, ASR – Pioneer, as part of a twenty-four year career at the Pioneer Aerospace Corporation.
Projects at Pioneer have included: the large parafoil parachute system for the NASA X-38 Crew Return Vehicle for the International Space Station; development of an advanced troop parachute and deployment system; development of parachute test techniques and instrumentation; an advanced ejection seat parachute; a troop parachute harness in use with several military services; program manager for the Pioneer/Fox Parachute Services G16¬Cargo Parachute; and parachute technical lead/program manager for the USAF Rapid Dragon program.
Prior to coming to Pioneer, Mr. Watkins had 13 years parachute development experience as a program manager at the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NRDEC), with emphasis on personnel parachute systems. He developed quick response modifications for cargo parachutes used in Bosnia and first Gulf war, and the test techniques to rapidly verify performance before operational use. Mr. Watkins was a member of the McDonnell- Douglas/USAF/US Army team responsible for testing and qualifying the C 17 transport aircraft to conduct mass-tactical assault airborne operations. Mr. Watkins was a member of the French, German, UK, and US working group to develop the International Test Operations Procedure (ITOP) for parachutes.
Mr. Watkins is Airborne qualified and one of the few civilians to attend Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA. Major (Retired), U.S. Army Reserves. Private pilot with single engine land and glider ratings. He built and test flew an experimental self-launching sailplane. He has extensive experience with Radio Controlled model aircraft leading to the use of inexpensive model aircraft instrumentation for parachute development and testing. Mr. Watkins is a past chair of the AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technical Committee and he is an AIAA Associate Fellow.
Contributor
Oleg Yakimenko is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of Systems Engineering Department at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA (NPS). He also serves as NPS Associate Dean of Research / Director of UAS Research Activities. He holds two doctoral degrees – in Aerospace Engineering and in Operations Research. He serves as the Program Manager of Autonomous Systems Track, Director of Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Center, and Director of Autonomous Systems Engineering and Integration Laboratory at NPS. His areas of interest include modeling, guidance, navigation and control of manned and unmanned aerial and maritime vehicles, satellites, guided weapons and parachutes.
Dr. Yakimenko is an author or co-author of over three hundred publications including fourteen textbooks and seventeen patents. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).