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Engineering researcher receives Air Force Young Investigator Research Award

 

Soon-Jo Chung, an Iowa State University assistant professor in aerospace engineering, has been selected to receive a three-year $300,000 grant through the Air Force Young Investigator Research Program (YIP). He is one of 39 scientists and engineers from across the country chosen by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to receive the approximately $12.1 million in grants.

Chung’s goal is to develop a new type of micro aerial vehicle (MAV). MAVs are small autonomous aircraft that the military uses for such things as surveying potentially hazardous environments. The ability to avoid obstacles while moving in and around tight spaces is a key requirement for MAVs. Chung has turned to one of nature’s natural flyers, the bat, for ideas on developing a highly maneuverable MAV.

“We can learn a lot from bats,” Chung says. “Bats have membrane wings, which are very compliant and flexible. There are at least 24 joints in the wings, making them very acrobatic. Bats are also very adaptable; they can fly with a damaged wing and with more than 50% of their proportional weight.”

In his project “Bio-Inspired Integrated Sensing and Control of Flapping Flight for Micro Aerial Vehicles,” Chung, a control engineer, will devise and evaluate a sensing and control system that mimics the neuronal networks of natural flyers. Incorporating some of his previous research on multijoint tethered formation flying and synchronization of dynamical systems, Chung proposes a bio-inspired control system to ensure the wings’ flapping and joint movements are synchronized as they respond to unique environmental conditions.

The YIP program is offered to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators, and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the air force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering. Competition for the awards is intense, according to AFOSR officials. This year, 210 proposals were received in response to the call for proposals.

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