AME Seminar: Roger Kimmel

Abstract: The HIFiRE-1 and -5 were highly successful basic research programs in hypersonic laminar/turbulent transition, composed of flight experiments, ground tests and computation. The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation of Australia executed the programs. HIFiRE-1 and -5 provided valuable calibration and validation of the hypersonic boundary layer transition theory and ground test. The program inspired scores of publications and served as a template for later flight tests including BOLT-1 and -2. This talk describes the motivation for the programs and the keys to their success and offers some suggestions for future tests.

Bio: Roger Kimmel received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1982 and his Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University in 1986. After graduate school, Roger worked for the Hughes Aircraft Company Missile Systems Group (later acquired by Raytheon), then spent the remaining 32 years of his career at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and its precursor organizations at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio.  At AFRL, Roger executed basic research in hypersonic boundary layer laminar/turbulent transition and plasma dynamics. In this role, he served as the principal investigator for HIFiRE-1 and -5. He also served as a subject matter expert for the Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP), the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2), the Space Shuttle and other systems for DoD, DoE and NASA.  Roger retired from AFRL in 2021 and is now a consultant.