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Chrysoula Lydia (Sissy) Pastra

Research Engineer II
Civil Aviation Research Division

Dr. Chrysoula Lydia (Sissy) Pastra is a Research Engineer II at the School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a member of ASDL’s Civil Aviation Research Department. Dr. Pastra’s primary areas of research include hybrid electric and hydrogen fuel cell architecture modelling, and fleet level life cycle emissions modelling. Operational and infrastructure requirements exploration for novel green aircraft and integrated modelling with hybrid aircraft was at the epicenter of her thesis. Her research will expand to other areas of sustainable aviation, including on-route and on-ground operations optimization.

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Aerospace Engineering, 2024, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA - USA
  • Master of Science, Aerospace Engineering, 2022, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA - USA
  • Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, 2020, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl - USA

Dr. Pastra currently works on the following research projects:

  • Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration Project,
  • ASCENT 96: FAA Aviation Scenarios Development,
  • ASCENT 85: Strategies for Improving En-Route Fuel Efficiency ,
  • Net Zero Aviation 2075.

  1. Cai, Y., Pastra, C. L., Xie, J., Thind, J. K., Monjon, M. M., Gladin, J. C., & Mavris, D. N. (2023). System-level Trade Study of Hybrid Parallel Propulsion Architectures on Future Regional and Thin Haul Turboprop Aircraft. In AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum (p. 0838). https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-0838
  2. Cai Y., Xie J., Pastra C. L., Ndifor N. R. ,Kehler A. M. and Mavris Dimitri. “Parametric Mission Performance Assessment of Regional Turboprop Aircraft Retrofitted With Hybrid Electric Propulsion,” AIAA 2024-4038. AIAA AVIATION FORUM AND ASCEND 2024 . July 2024. https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/epdf/10.2514/6.2024-4038
  3. Pastra C. L., Hall C.,Cinar G. , Gladin J. and Mavris D. N. , “Specific Power and Efficiency Projections of Electric Machines and Circuit Protection Exploration for Aircraft Applications,” 2022 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference & Expo (ITEC), Anaheim, CA, USA, 2022, pp. 766-771, doi: 10.1109/ITEC53557.2022.9813927.
  4. C. Hall, C. L. Pastra, A. Burrell, J. Gladin and D. N. Mavris, “Projecting Power Converter Specific Power Through 2050 for Aerospace Applications,” 2022 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference & Expo (ITEC), Anaheim, CA, USA, 2022, pp. 760-765, doi: 10.1109/ITEC53557.2022.9813991.
  5. Pastra C. L., Cinar G. and Mavris D.N. “Feasibility and benefit assessments of hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and battery configurations on a regional turboprop aircraft,” AIAA 2022-3290. AIAA AVIATION 2022 Forum. June 2022. https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/epdf/10.2514/6.2022-3290
  6. Pastra C. L. , Dull C. ,Berumen R. ,Yumuk C. ,Cinar G. and Mavris D. N., “Viability Study of an Electrified Regional Turboprop,” 2022 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference & Expo (ITEC), Anaheim, CA, USA, 2022, pp. 231-236, doi: 10.1109/ITEC53557.2022.9813756.
  7. Pastra C. L., Balchanos M. G. and Mavris D. N. “Decision Support Technique for Amphibious Fleet Planning and Acquisition to Support Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Missions,” AIAA 2022-2135. AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum. January 2022.https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/epdf/10.2514/6.2022-2135
  8. Pastra C. L. , Ganzarski N., Gladin J. C. and Mavris D. N. “Projecting Key Performance Parameters for Electric Powertrain Components through 2050 for Aerospace Applications,” AIAA 2023-4341. AIAA AVIATION 2023 Forum. June 2023. https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/epdf/10.2514/6.2023-4341

Theses

  1. Pastra, C.L. (2024). Methodology formulation for multi-energy sustainable turboprop regional aircraft sizing with airport infrastructure capability and operational constraints. (Doctoral dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology).

  • Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)