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Jimmy C.M. Tai

Associate Director, Aerospace System’s Design Laboratory
Chief, Advanced Configurations Division

Dr. Jimmy Tai received his Doctoral degree in 1998 and has 30 years of relevant full-time employment as a Research Faculty as well as the Division Chief of the Advanced Configurations of the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL). He also serves as the newly appointed Associate Director of ASDL. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Tai has demonstrated a unique combination of technical, managerial, and entrepreneurial achievement in his work in the ASDL. This is evident in the number of advanced concepts related projects that Dr. Tai has managed or directed as a PI or Co-PI. Dr. Tai has made key technical contributions to all the projects in which he has participated or is currently leading. He has been PI or Co-PI for over 50 projects, Program Manager for over 45 projects, and Task Leader for 15 projects, and has applied excellent managerial skills to these roles. Furthermore, he has also developed his entrepreneurial skill sets as evident in the follow-on research that he has secured, fostering key industrial relationships with Boeing, Airbus, General Electric Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, NASA, and the FAA. Dr. Tai is also expert in the area of air breathing propulsion system design. Dr. Tai is also experienced in leading two DARPA programs in 2005 and 2022 for Georgia Tech. The 2005 DARPA program focused on the design of a reaction drive gryocopter called the Heliplane, and the most recent DARPA CRANE program focuses on designing an UAV employing active flow control. Dr. Tai’s scholarly achievements have been both significant and sustained in the area of propulsion system design and modeling as evidenced by a peer-reviewed paper and numerous technical reports. For example, he has successfully introduced a technique of simultaneous, multiple design points for on-design cycle analysis, and he served as the research advisor and thesis committee member of the Ph.D. student who successfully defended his thesis on this method. The MDP methodology is at the heart of both the Environmental Design Space (EDS) and Framework for Advanced Supersonic Transport (FASST) modeling and simulation (M&S) environments. ASDL. Dr. Tai is the main architect of both EDS and FASST, which are critical to numerous NASA, FAA, and industrial sponsored projects.

  • Associate Director, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (09/2022 – Present)
  • Advanced Configurations Division Chief, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (04/2018 – Present)
  • Propulsion & Energy Division Chief, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (11/2010 – 04/2018)
  • Research Manager, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (10/2005 – 11/2010)
  • Senior Research Engineer, School of Aerospace Engineering (07/2008 – Present)
  • Research Engineer II, School of Aerospace Engineering (12/1998 – 07/2008)

  • Fixed Wing Vehicle Synthesis & Sizing
  • Propulsion System Design
  • Technology Assessment
  • Multidisciplinary Analysis Methods

  • Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, 1998, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA - USA
  • M.S.A.E, Aerospace Engineering, 1991, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA - USA
  • B.S.A.E, Aerospace Engineering, 1990, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA - USA

  • Program Manager (PM) for DARPA CRANE Project (~$6M program for 12 months)
    • Managed eight subcontractors and coordinated with School of ME and GTRI to design and wind tunnel test of unmanned aerial vehicle employing active flow control
  • PM for NASA Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) Project (~$1.16M program for 18 months)
    • Managed team of seven research faculty and six graduate researchers to model 12 SFD variants
    • Technically lead the development of GT Transonic Truss Braced Wing system model
  • PM for NASA Zero Emission Project (~$0.687M program for 12 months)
    • Managed team of four research faculty and eight graduate researchers to model potential 2050 zero-carbon configuration
  • PM for NASA AATT Dashboard Project (~$0.371M program for 12 months)
    • Managed team of two research faculty and three graduate researchers to assess far term technologies on five advanced tube and wing configurations
  • PM for FAA Aircraft Technology Modeling and Assessment ($~0.7M program for 12 months)
    • Managed team of eight faculty researchers and eight graduate researchers to design next generation commercial supersonic transports
  • Technical Lead (TL) for FAA A82A Dual Stringency Study (~$0.4M program over 12 months)
    • Managed team of six graduate researchers to assist FAA on dual stringency setting for both CO2 metric value and cumulative noise for five classes of commercial transports
  • Co-PM for FAA CLEEN Project (~$0.25M for 18 months)
    • Managed team of two research faculty and three graduate researchers to assess near term technologies to reduce fuel burn, emissions, and noise on six classes of commercial transports
  • TL for ASDL Environmental Design Space (EDS) and Framework for Advanced Supersonic Transports (FASST)
    • Lead developer for ASDL’s modeling and simulation environments for conceptual level design and technology assessment for both subsonic and supersonic civil transports

  1. Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., and Schrage, D.P., " An Assessment of Reaction Driven Stopped Rotor/Wing Using Circulation Control in Forward Flight," SAE 1996 Transactions, Journal of Aerospace, Vol. 105, Section I, 965612, pp. 1647-1656,1997. As the lead author, Dr. Tai performed all analyses and composed initial and final draft of paper.
  2. Tai, J.C., McClure, E.K., Mavris, D.N., “Propulsion System Modeling and Simulation,” JANNAF Interagency Propulsion Committee Conference, Sandestin, FL, May 8-12, 2002.
  3. Mavris, D.N., DeLaurentis, D.A., Hale, M.A., Tai, J.C., “Elements of an Emerging Virtual Stochastic life Cycle Design Environment,” Presented at the 4th World Aviation Congress and Exposition, San Francisco, CA, October 19-21, 1999.
  4. Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., Schrage, D.P., “Comparative Assessment of High Speed Rotorcraft Concepts (HSRC): Reaction Driven Stopped Rotor/Wing and Variable Diameter Tiltrotor,” Presented at the 2nd World Aviation Congress and Exposition, Anaheim, CA, October 13-16, 1997.
  5. Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., and Schrage, D.P., “An Assessment of Reaction Driven Stopped Rotor/Wing Using Circulation Control in Forward Flight,” Presented at the 1st World Aviation Congress and Exposition, Los Angeles, CA, October 21-24, 1996.
  6. Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., Schrage, D.P., “An Application of Response Surface Methodology to the Design of Tipjet Driven Stopped Rotor/Wing Concepts,” Presented at the 1st AIAA Aircraft Engineering, Technology, and Operations Congress, Anaheim, CA, September 19-21, 1995.
  7. Mavris, D. N. and Tai, J. C., “GT/ASDL Deliverable 2 for Work Plan for Ultra Efficient Engine Technology Systems Evaluation,” Final Report, NASA Glenn Research Center, Contract No. NAS 3-00179/C-79847-N, December 21, 2001.
  8. Mavris, D. N., Kirby, M. R., and Tai, J. C., “Phase I QAT Program Technology Audit & Modeling Investigation,” Final Report, NASA Glenn Research Center, Contract No. NAS3-00179/NNC04QA03D, February 29, 2004.
  9. Roth, B. A., Tai, J. C., Mavris, D. N., “Creation of a Parametric Variable Cycle Engine Model for Supersonic Business Jet Applications,” Phase I Final Report, NASA Glenn Research Center, Contract No. NAS3-00179/C-80126-A, June 11, 2004.
  10. Mavris, D. N., Tai, J. C., Denney, R., “Formulation, Development, and Creation of VISSTA/VIPER-CAT Environment,” Task 2.1.1 Final Report, Contract No. NCC3-982, January 19, 2008.
  11. Berton, J., Tai, J.C., Baltman, E., “Aircraft Noise and Performance Data for a Notional Supersonic Business Jet,” 28th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics 2022 Conference, Southampton, UK, June 14-17, 2022.
  12. Karagoz, E., Tai, J.C., Sarojini, D., Mavris, D.N., “Design Space Reduction using Clustering in Aircraft Engine Design,” 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, USA, March 2-9, 2019.
  13. Berguin, S., Renganathan, S., Ahuja, A., Chen, M., Perron, C., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “CFD Study of an Over-Wing Nacelle Configuration,” ASDL Contract Report No. 1853/60464, October 2018.
  14. Baltman, E., Tai, J.C., Ahuja, J., Stewart, B., Perron, C., De Azevedo, J., Vlady, T.R., Mavris, D.N., “A Methodology for Determining the Interdependence of Fuel Burn and LTO Noise of a Commercial Supersonic Transport,” AIAA Aviation 2022 Forum, Chicago, IL, USA, June 27 – July 1, 2022.
  15. Baltman, E., Tai, J.C., “The Environmental Design Space: Modeling and Performance Updates,” AIAA 2021 SciTech Forum, Virtual Event, 11–15 & 19–21 January 2021.
  16. Baltman, E., Tai, J.C., Shi, M., Mavris, D.N., “An Investigation of Cooled Cooling Air for a Mach 2.2 Commercial Supersonic Transport,” AIAA Propulsion and Energy 2021 Forum, Virtual Event, 9-11 August 2021.
  17. Nunez, L.S., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “The Environmental Design Space: Modeling and Performance Updates,” AIAA SciTech 2021 Forum, Virtual Event, 11–15 & 19–21 January 2021.
  18. Shi, M., Chakraborty, I., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Integrated Gas Turbine and Environmental Control System Pack Sizing and Analysis,” 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, FL, USA, 8–12 January 2018.
  19. Shi, M., Chakraborty, I., Cai, Y., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Mission-Level Study of Integrated Gas Turbine and Environmental Control System Architectures,” 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, FL, USA, 8–12 January 2018.
  20. Bozeman, M., Tai, J.C., Robertson, B., Mavris, D.N., “Prediction of Dynamic Stability Derivatives for Flexible Aircraft using FUN3D,” 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, FL, USA, 8–12 January 2018.
  21. Renganathan, S.A., Berguin, S., Chen, M., Ahuja, J., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Sensitivity Analysis of Aero-Propulsive Coupling for Over-Wing-Nacelle Concepts,” 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, FL, USA, 8–12 January 2018.
  22. Fu, H.Y., Denney, R., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “An Architecture-based Product Growth Approach to Ground-based Gas Turbine Conceptual Design,” 2017 AIAA Propulsion & Energy Forum, Atlanta, GA, USA, 10-12 July 2017.
  23. Busch, G.R., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., Duca, R., Mohan, R., “Sensitivity Analysis of Supersonic Mach Cut-Off Flight,” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 141(5):3565-3565, May 2017.
  24. Gladin, J.C., Trawick, D., Perullo, C., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Modeling and Design of a Partially Electric Distributed Aircraft Propulsion System with GT-HEAT,” 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Grapevine, Texas, USA, 9-13 January 2017.
  25. Trawick, D., Perullo, C., Armstrong, M., Synder, D., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Development and Application of GT-HEAT for the Electrically Variable Engine(TM) Design,” 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Grapevine, Texas, USA, 9-13 January 2017.
  26. Gladin, J.C, Perullo, C., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “A Parametric Study of Hybrid Electric Gas Turbine Propulsion as a Function of Aircraft Size Class and Technology Level,” 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Grapevine, Texas, USA, 9-13 January 2017.
  27. Perullo, J., Trawick, D., Armstrong, M., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Cycle Selection and Sizing of a Single-Aisle Transport with the Electrically Variable Engine(TM) (EVE) for Fleet Level Fuel Optimization,” 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Grapevine, Texas, USA, 9-13 January 2017.
  28. Ozcan, M., Chakraborty, I., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Gas Turbine Transient Response to Subsystem Architecture Secondary Power Off-Takes,” 52nd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 25-27 July 2016.
  29. Tai, J.C., Mines, J.M, Inclan, E., Zhu, S.Y., “Uncertainty Quantification and Management in Engine Conceptual Design,” 52nd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 25-27 July 2016.
  30. Ozcan, M., Perullo, C., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “A Parametric Gas Turbine Modeling Approach for Assessing Transient Technologies in the Conceptual Design Phase,” 51st AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Orlando, FL, USA, July 27-29, 2015.
  31. Zhang, T., Mahadevan, S., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “A Strategy for Probabilistic Margin Allocation in Aircraft Conceptual Design,” 16th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Dallas, TX, USA, 22-26 June 2015.
  32. Cooke, R., Zang, T., Mavris, D.N., Tai, J.C., “Sculpting: A Fast, Interactive Method for Probabilistic Design Space Exploration and Margin Allocation,” 16th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Dallas, TX, USA, 22-26 June 2015.
  33. Ozcan, M., Kestner, B., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Using Density Estimation in Comparing Input Signals for Gas Turbine Engine Transient Models,” 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Cleveland, OH, USA, 28-30 July 2014.
  34. Perullo, C., Trawick, D., Clifton, W., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Development of a Suite of Hybrid Electric Propulsion Modeling Elements Using NPSS,” ASME Turbo Expo 2014, Dusseldorf, Germany, 16-20 June 2014.
  35. Hassan, M., Tai, J.C., Denney, R., Havrilesko, B., “En Route Jet Aircraft Noise Analysis,” AIAA/3AF Aircraft Noise and Emissions Reduction Symposium, Atlanta, GA, USA, 16-20 June 2014.
  36. Ozcan, M., Kestner, B., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Pattern Classification of a Civilian Turbofan’s State Space for Real-Time Surrogate Modeling,” 49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, San Jose, CA, USA, 14 – 17 July 2013.
  37. Perullo, C., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Effects of Advanced Engine Technology on Open Rotor Cycle Selection and Performance,” Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, 135(7):071204-071204-9, June 2013.
  38. Perullo, C., Kestner, B., Tai, J.C., Schutte, J., Mavris, D.N., “Evaluation of the Shortcomings of Current Engine Technology Stack-Up Methods and Suggestions for Improvement,” ASME Turbo Expo 2013, San Antonio, TX, USA, 3-7 June 2013.
  39. Denney, R., Gladin, J.C, Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Propulsion Systems Modeling with Vehicle Sketch Pad,” 51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Grapevine, TX, USA, 7-10 January 2013.
  40. Perullo, C., Havrilesko, B., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “An Integrated Assessment of an Advanced Open Rotor Configuration Using the Environmental Design Space,” 48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, Atlanta, GA, USA, 30 July 2012 – 01 August 2012.
  41. Schutte, J., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Multi Design Point Cycle Design Incorporation into the Environmental Design Space,” 48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, Atlanta, GA, USA, 30 July 2012 – 01 August 2012.
  42. Denney, D., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Emissions Prediction for Aircraft Conceptual Design,” 48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, Atlanta, GA, USA, 30 July 2012 – 01 August 2012.
  43. Kestner, B., Schutte, J., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Surrogate Modeling for Simultaneous Engine Cycle and Technology Optimization for Next Generation Subsonic Aircraft,” ASME Turbo Expo 2012, Copenhagen Denmark, 11-15 June 2012.
  44. Perullo, C., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Effects of Advanced Engine Technology on Open Rotor Cycle Selection and Performance,” Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, 135(7), June 2012.
  45. Schutte, J., Tai, J.C., Sands, J., Mavris, D.N., “Cycle Design Exploration Using Multi-Design Point Approach,” ASME Turbo Expo 2012, Copenhagen Denmark, 11-15 June 2012.
  46. Denney, R., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Parametric Geometry for Propulsion-Airframe Integration,” 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 09 - 12 January 2012.
  47. Schutte, J., Kestner, B., Jimenez, H., Tai, J.C., “Updates and Modeling Enhancements to the Assessment of NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation Technologies and Vehicle Concepts,” 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 09 - 12 January 2012.
  48. Kestner, B., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “A Computationally Efficient Methodology for Generating Training Data for a Transient Neural Network of a Tip-Jet Reaction Drive System,” Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, 133(12):121601, December 2011.
  49. Rezvani, R., Ozcan, M., Kestner, B., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., Meisner, R., Sirica, S., “A Gas Turbine Engine Model of Transient Operation Across the Flight Envelope,” ASME 2011 Turbo Expo, Vancouver, Canada, 6-10 June 2011.
  50. Young, R., Tai, J.C., Havrilesko, B., Mavris, D.N., “A Comparison of Community Noise Metrics for Open Rotor Engine Architectures,” 16th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference," Stockholm, Sweden, 7-9 June 2010.
  51. Kestner, B., Tai, J.C., Mavris, D.N., “Multivariable PI Control for Tip-Jet Reaction Drive Systems,” 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, Denver, Colorado, USA, 2-5 August 2009.
  52. Denney, R., Tai, J.C., Kestner, B., Mavris, D.N., “Variable Cycle Optimization for Supersonic Commercial Applications2005-01-3400, Presented World Aviation Congress, Dallas Fort Worth, TX, October 2-6, 2005.
  53. Mavris, D.N., Tai, J.C., Schrage, D., “A Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Approach to Sizing Stopped Rotor Configurations Utilizing Reaction Drive and Circulation Control,” 5th AIAA/NASA/USAF/ISSMO Symposium on Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization, Panama City, FL, 7-9 September 1994.

  • Professional Activities
    • Senior Member, AIAA
    • AIAA Gas Turbine Technical Committee Chair (2018-2020);
    • AIAA Propulsion and Energy Group Educational Chair – AIAA Undergraduate Propulsion Competition
  • On‑Campus Committees
    • Research advisor and committee member for over ~25 Ph.D.’s
    • Research Faculty promotions committee
    • School of AE IT Committee