Drew Dove, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was the lead author for a paper that received the 2025 Ground Testing Best Paper Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
The technical paper is titled, “High-Fidelity Temperature and Heat Flux Evaluation in a Mach 6 Arject Tunnel with Infrared Thermography.” The work details the validation steps for infrared thermography, a technique for measuring temperatures using a specialized camera, in the arcjet facilities of MAE Assistant Professor Damiano Baccarrella.
Improved measurement fidelity in such facilities directly supports hypersonics and space technology development, where validated thermal response data is essential for designing and qualifying thermal protection systems for high-speed atmospheric entry and planetary missions.
“It is a true honor to receive an award from the AIAA community. Knowing others find merit in this work is a true delight,” Dove said. “Additionally, it reminds me how fortunate I am to be surrounded by such a great team of co-authors and advisors. This work would not have been possible without them.”
Dove’s co-authors of the paper are Christian Isaacs, Killian Samuels, Jonathan Dixon, Baccarella, and MAE Professor Kenneth Kihm.
They will be honored during an awards recognition event at the 2026 AVIATION Forum in San Diego, California on June 8. The group will receive certificates, and their paper will be listed in the July 2026 online issue of Aerospace America as a Best Paper Award winner.
“Receiving an AIAA Best Paper Award is an outstanding achievement for a graduate student,” Baccarella said. “It represents well-deserved recognition of the significant effort and dedication that Drew and the team have invested in this work. My colleague Dr. Kihm and I are fortunate to work with such a talented, motivated, and highly capable group of students.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])