C.P. van Dam

UC Davis
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Biography

Education

  • Doctor of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, May 1983.
  • Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, August 1979.
  • Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering, University of Kansas, October 1978.
  • Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, September 1975.

Professional Experience

July 2021 – Present
Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis

  • Extramural funded research on aircraft aerodynamics including active flow control (AFC), high-lift aerodynamics, and drag prediction and reduction
  • Teach short courses on aircraft cruise and high-lift aerodynamics

July 2016 – June 2019
Inaugural Associate Dean for Facilities and Capital Planning, College of Engineering

  • Responsible for safety, maintenance, renovation, and new construction of teaching and research facilities in the College of Engineering.
  • Enabled the growth of the college’s faculty members to meet growing student enrollment.
  • Managed the design of the new Engineering Student Design Center (ESDC) at UC Davis.
  • Managed renovation of CNM2 cleanroom and recruited a new facility director.
  • Recruited a new director for safety for the College of Engineering.
  • Managed the design of the externally funded Coffee Center in the College of Engineering.
  • Managed the design and construction of a unique solar dish research laboratory.
  • Directed safety for engineering laboratories and created & managed IIPP (Injury and Illness Prevention Program) and EAP (Emergency Action Plan) documentation for Dean’s office.
  • Managed a staff of three FTE.

July 2010 – June 2016
Chair, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Warren and Leta Giedt Endowed Professor

  • Responsible for planning the programs of the department in teaching and research.
  • Directed 8 successful faculty recruitments in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
  • Transferred in 6 (4.75 FTE) faculty from closed-down engineering program in Applied Science to strengthen instruction and research in department.
  • Directed ABET approval of change in undergraduate program in Aeronautical Science and Engineering to Aerospace Science and Engineering.
  • Directed successful ABET accreditation of undergraduate programs in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Science and Engineering.
  • Directed successful review of department’s graduate program in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
  • Developed and implemented a 5-year strategic plan for the department.

February 2002 – June 2015
Director of the California Wind Energy Collaborative; a partnership between the University of California and the California Energy Commission focused on the development and support of wind energy in California.

  • Organized a total of 8 two-day conferences to discuss the status and challenges of wind energy in California with industry, local/state/federal agencies, and academia.
  • Organized a total of 10 multi-day short courses on small wind energy systems and utility-scale wind energy for people interested in installing small wind turbines or professionals entering the wind industry.
  • Managed a total project funding of $9.7 million.
  • Directed the first large scale California renewable integration study demonstrating that high wind power penetration levels do not cause grid disruptions.
  • Directed large-scale project on improving short-term wind power forecasting.

July 1985 – June 2021
Assistant Professor (July 1985 – June 1989), Associate Professor (July 1989 – June 1995) and Professor (July 1995 – Present) in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the University of California, Davis. Teaching the capstone aircraft preliminary design course as well as courses in aerodynamic design and optimization, wind tunnel experimentation, and wind power engineering. Also teaches industry short courses on aircraft aerodynamic performance improvement techniques and wind energy. Conducting research in wind energy engineering, aerodynamic drag prediction and reduction, high-lift aerodynamics, and active control of aerodynamic loads. Consultant for investment firms, aerospace companies, wind energy industry, and sailing yacht manufacturers, and serving on review committees for government agencies and research organizations.

April – July 1992 & June – December 1993
Visiting Researcher at NASA Langley Research Center conducting research on high-lift aerodynamics in support of Subsonic Aircraft High-Lift Flight Project.

January 1984 – August 1985
Research Associate, Vigyan Research Associates, Inc., Hampton, Virginia. Worked on the design and optimization of advanced technology lifting systems with special emphasis on cruise drag and high-angle of-attack (stall/spin) lift characteristics. Also studied the shaping of airplane fuselages for minimum drag.

January – December 1983
NRC Postdoctoral Researcher at NASA Langley Research Center. Investigated the possibilities for and the potential benefits of extensive amounts of natural laminar flow on devices such as wingtip-mounted winglets.

September 1979 – August 1982
Research Associate of the University of Kansas assigned to the Low-Speed Aerodynamics Division at NASA Langley Research Center. As a member of the Aerial Applications Research Project conducted theoretical and experimental analyses on the effects of wingtip modifications on airplane performance, stability and control, handling qualities, and aerodynamic loading.

September 1978 – August 1979
Research Assistant and Project Manager at the University of Kansas Flight Research Laboratory in charge of NASA research project. Correlated theoretical predictions of longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics with wind-tunnel data on the ATLIT airplane.

August 1977 – August 1978
Research Assistant and Project Manager at the University of Kansas Flight Research Laboratory. Worked on a research program supported under a NASA grant on the reduction of interior noise in general aviation airplanes.

Professional Activities and Honors

  • Advisor of three undergraduate student teams placing 1st (two teams tied) and 2nd in the 2020-21 NASA Aeronautics University Design Challenge: Weather Tolerant Operations for Urban Air Mobility.
  • Advisor of undergraduate student team placing 3rd in the 2019-20 NASA U.S. University Aeronautics Design Challenge: Urban Air Mobility.
  • Advisor of three undergraduate student teams placing 1st and 3rd in the 2018-19 NASA U.S. University Aeronautics Design Challenge: Self-Piloted Aircraft for Critical Rural/Suburban Needs.
  • Advisor of three undergraduate student teams placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 2017-18 NASA U.S. University Aeronautics Design Challenge: Ultra Efficient Commercial Transport.
  • Faculty advisor UC Davis AIAA student section, 2017 – 2021.
  • Co-Organizer (with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) and Host of the California Ocean Renewable Energy Conference, UC Davis, CA, November 1-2, 2016.
  • Advisor of two undergraduate student teams placing both 2nd in the 2016-17 NASA U.S. University Aeronautics Design Challenge: Supersonic Business Jet.
  • Advisor of undergraduate student teams placing 1st, 2nd, and honorable mention in the 2014-15 NASA U.S. University Design Challenge: All-Electric General Aviation Vehicle.
  • Warren and Leta Giedt Endowed Professorship, July 2010 – June 2016.
  • Co-Organizer and Chair of California Offshore Wind Power Forum, UC Davis, CA, June 11-12, 2013.
  • Organizer and Chair of 8th California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, UC Davis, CA, April 4, 2011.
  • Elected to Honor Roll of Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Kansas, April 2010.
  • Organizer and Chair of 7th California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, UC Davis, CA, May 10, 2010.
  • Organizer and Chair of 6th California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, UC Davis, CA, March 4, 2009.
  • Organizer and Chair of Small Wind Workshop, UC Davis, CA, October 29, 2008.
  • Elected AIAA Associate Fellow, September 2007.
  • Organizer and Chair of 5th California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, Napa, CA, December 12-13, 2006.
  • U.S. Department of Energy award for “Outstanding Research and Development Partnership to Advance Wind Energy Technology” in partnership with Knight & Carver, and Sandia National Laboratories, May 2006.
  • Organizer and Chair of 4th California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, La Jolla, CA, December 13-14, 2005.
  • Organizer and Chair of 3rd California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, Palm Springs, CA, December 14-15, 2004.
  • Invited member of Peer Review Panel to evaluate NASA research on Basic Aerodynamics, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, January 27-29, 2004.
  • Organizer and Chair of 2nd California Wind Energy Collaborative Forum, UC Davis, Dec. 16-17, 2003.
  • Invited Co-Director of Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics Lecture Series on CFD-Based Aircraft Drag Prediction and Reduction, Rhode Saint Genèse, Belgium, Feb. 3-7, 2003.
  • Organizer and Chair of 1st California Wind Energy Consortium Forum, UC Davis, Dec. 17-18, 2002.
  • AIAA Fluids 2000 Art of Flow Control Artistic Award for Active Load Control and Lift Enhancement using MEM Translational Tabs, June 2000.
  • NASA Certificate of Recognition for work on In-Flight Infrared Surface Flow Visualization, October 1998.
  • Member of AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee, 1993-95.
  • NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Awards, 1993 and 1994.
  • Co-edited book titled Fluid Dynamics in Biology, Contemporary Mathematics, Vol. 141, 1993.
  • NASA Certificate of Recognition for the development of Crescent Wing Planforms, December 1989.
  • AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award for major innovative contributions in Applied Aerodynamics, 1989.
  • NASA Certificate of Recognition for the development of an Aircraft Stall-Spin Entry Deterrent System, March 1988.
  • Outstanding Advisor Award of the University of California, Davis, School of Engineering, 1985 – 1986.
  • Group Achievement Award, Aerial Applications Research Team, NASA Langley Research Center, October 1983.
  • National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associateship Award, 1983.
  • Member of Sigma Gamma Tau (National Honor Society in Aerospace Engineering).

Patents

  • AIRCRAFT STALL-SPIN ENTRY DETERRENT SYSTEM, U.S. Patent No. 4,776,542 C.P. van Dam. Issued October 11, 1988.
  • ACTIVE SYSTEM FOR CONTROL OF AERODYNAMIC LOADING USING MICROFABRICATED TRANSLATIONAL TABS, U.S. Patent No. 7,028,954, C.P. van Dam, D.T. Yen, R.L. Smith, S.D. Collins. Issued April 18, 2006.
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY GENERATING AIRFOIL PERFORMANCE TABLES, U.S. Patent No. 7,124,038, C.P. van Dam, E.A. Mayda, R.C. Strawn. Issued October 17, 2006.
  • WIND TURBINE WITH DEPLOYABLE AIR DEFLECTORS, U.S. Patent No. 8,192,161, J.P. Baker, K.L. Jackson, E.A. Mayda, C.P. van Dam. Issued June 5, 2012.
  • WIND TURBINE WITH GUST COMPENSATING AIR DEFLECTOR, U.S. Patent No. 8,267,654, C.P. van Dam, K.L. Jackson. Issued September 18, 2012.
  • WIND TURBINE WITH DEPLOYABLE AIR DEFLECTORS, U.S. Patent No. 10,844,837, J.P. Baker, K.L. Jackson, E.A. Mayda, C.P. van Dam. Issued November 24, 2020.