Dr. David Doman awarded Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal Published Feb. 1, 2009 By Holly Jordan AFRL Air Vehicles Directorate WRIGHT-PATTERSSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- AFRL scientist Dr. David Doman of the Air Vehicles Directorate was recently honored with the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Silver Medal for his work on a controls-based modeling approach for airbreathing hypersonic vehicles. He was presented the award in London at the RAeS Orville and Wilbur Wright Lecture on December 11. Control of airbreathing hypersonic vehicles (vehicles capable of traveling at speeds of Mach 5 and above) poses unique challenges when compared to conventional air vehicles because of the existence of significant complex interactions between vehicle components. To understand and overcome these challenges, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of all of the systems involved in the aircraft, including propulsion, aerodynamics, structures, control effectors, and thermal protection systems. Dr. Doman used his knowledge of the overall makeup of the hypersonic vehicle to develop a control-oriented dynamic model that not only characterizes the contributions from the individual vehicle systems, but also accounts for the interactions between subsystems and their overall effect upon the controllability of the aircraft. Dr. Doman's work permits flight dynamics and controls to be considered early in the design cycle, something necessary for hypersonic vehicles because of the interaction between the components and the small design margins. The model developed by Dr. Doman enables designers and engineers to better understand how to improve vehicle configurations to make them better able to respond to feedback control. His model is currently being used by researchers from more than twenty teams working on guidance and control for hypersonic vehicles. Dr. Doman is the past recipient of a number of awards, including the Dr. Courtland D. Perkins In-House Engineering Award and the General Benjamin D. Foulois Award. He has also been named an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The Royal Aeronautical Society is one of the most respected professional societies in the world, with members from a broad range of professions within the aerospace industry. The RAeS awards its Silver Medal to professionals who exhibit work of an exceptional nature leading to major advances or contributions in aerospace. Some noteworthy past recipients of the RAeS Silver Medal include: · F. H. Royce, co-founder of Rolls Royce, 1929 · J. de la Cierva, inventor of the autogyro, 1932 · I.I. Sikorsky, inventor of the helicopter, 1948