Department of Aerospace Engineering Assistant Professor Umberto Saetti was awarded the 2024 Dave Ward Memorial Lecture Award by the Aerospace Control and Guidance Systems Committee (ACGSC).

ACGSC recognized Saetti for his outstanding contributions to the development of a dynamic system framework for time-periodic, multi-domain systems representative of the coupled flight dynamics, aeromechanics, and aeroacoustics of rotary- and flapping-wing vehicles.

Saetti is the director of UMD’s Extended Reality Flight Simulation and Control Lab, with research and teaching expertise in the fields of flight dynamics, control, and handling qualities, state-space modeling of aeromechanics/aeroacoustics of vertical lift vehicles, and human-machine machine interaction. In more detail, his research involves modeling, simulation, order reduction, and control of the coupled flight dynamics, aeromechanics, and aeroacoustics of vertical lift vehicles. These models are used for studies involving immersive simulations that make use of Extended Reality (XR), human-machine interaction, synthesis of advanced flight control laws, and development of multimodal, neuro-adaptive pilot cueing methods.

Saetti is the recipient of a 2022 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) and a 2024 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) awards. Additionally, he received the Barnes McCormick Memorial Scholarship, awarded by the Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) for outstanding accomplishments as a doctoral candidate in the vertical flight field.

Prior to University of Maryland, he held appointments as Assistant Professor at Auburn University, as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech, and as Visiting Scholar at the U.S. Army Aviation Development Directorate at NASA Ames.

Saetti holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (with a minor in Computational Science), an M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, and an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He received his B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Saetti will receive his award at the 2024 Fall ACGSC meeting scheduled Nov 20-22 at Cambria Downtown Asheville, Asheville, NC, and he will present a technical talk on his research as part of the recognition.

ACGSC established the Dave Ward Memorial Lecture Award to recognize significant contributions by young members of the aerospace community (35 years old or less at the time of the award nomination deadline) in the development of flight dynamics, control, and guidance system technologies. The award also honors the memory of Dave Ward, former Vice President, and Chair Elect of ACGSC, who was very active in recruiting young members to the ACGSC.