JDG completes search for the Air Force Research Lab’s Chief Scientist, Aerospace Systems

JDG and AFRL are pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Venke Sankaran as its Chief Scientist, Aerospace Systems Directorate. He is responsible for mentoring and guiding the development of dedicated technical staff to respond to Air Force near- and long-term research and development needs in the field of rocket propulsion. Dr. Sankaran also provides expert technical consultation to Air Force organizations, the Department of Defense and other government agencies and to universities and industry. 

Prior to joining the Air Force, Dr. Sankaran was at the Army’s Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center at Ames Research Center, where he served as the architect and technical lead of the Helios rotorcraft simulation software platform. He has also served as research faculty at Penn State University’s Propulsion Engineering Research Center, University of Tennessee Space Institute, Purdue University’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, NASA Ames Research Center and University of California Santa Cruz’s University Affiliated Research Center. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University.