Browning, Patrick

Education

Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, 2009 
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, 2005 
A.A. in Mechanical Engineering, Potomac State College of WVU, 2003

After earning his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from WVU's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department in 2005, Dr. Patrick Browning entered the department's fast track program and successfully defended his dissertation to earn his doctorate in aerospace engineering in 2009. His time as a student at WVU gave him a broad range of research and engineering consulting experience in such areas as fixed-wing and coaxial rotorcraft UAV design and performance analysis, low speed wind tunnel testing, NG pipeline acoustics, gas ejector systems, wing circulation and boundary layer control, transient flow characterization of high speed valves, controlled autoignition combustion, small scale heavy fuel engine development, and hot-dip steel galvanizing airknife design.

Before accepting his current position in 2014, Dr. Browning held the position of Research Assistant Professor at the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. His most recent work has been focused primarily on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), experimental aerodynamics and aero structural design, with particular emphasis in Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) and related low Reynolds number applications. Browning has instructed several undergraduate courses at WVU including Introduction to Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design, Introduction to Aerospace Engineering, Flight Vehicle Propulsion, and Guided Missile Systems.

Curriculum Vitae

Research Focus Areas

Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

Research Interests

Low Reynolds number experimental aerodynamics 
Pulse detonation engines (PDEs) 
Biomimetic aerodynamics and avian flight mechanics 
Pneumatic valves and dynamic compressible systems 
Dynamic flow control: electrohydrodynamics (EHD), boundary layer control (BLC), and circulation control (CC) 
Tube-launched unmanned aerial systems and hybrid projectiles (HPs)

Teaching Interests

Aircraft & Machine Design 
Aerodynamics & Fluid Mechanics 
Internal & External Ballistics 
Propulsion Systems

Service and Outreach

Member, Unmanned Aerial Systems Committee, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 
Instructor, Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) West Virginia

Special Interests

Ultralight backpacking 
Speed on two wheels - bicycling and motorcycling 
Unpowered and powered paragliding

Professional Societies

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)