Join the College of Engineering for their Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Robert L. Stewart, Brigadier General, USA, and Retired NASA Astronaut in SSB 112 at 1 PM for a discussion on “Aerodynamics and Dynamics of the Helicopter.”

General Stewart is a highly experienced Army Aviator and experimental test pilot. In his four and a half years as an experimental test pilot he was privileged to fly five prototype helicopters, including serving as the project officer and chief test pilot on the YAH-64 which became the “Apache” armed helicopter. His presentation will highlight helicopter design consideration based on mission requirements and will introduce the fundamentals of air flow through the rotating components of vertical take off vehicles. This presentation will also address fundamentals of lift generation applicable to both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Following his formal presentation, there will be a period for general discussion and questions.

General Stewart received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1964 and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in Arlington in 1972. He has military and civilian experience in some 40 types of airplanes and helicopters, including over 1200 hours of jet time, 1015 combat flight hours, and logged over 6,000 hours total flight time. He was a member of the Challenger (Feb. 1984) and the Atlantis (Oct. 1985) astronaut teams before being promoted to Brigadier General in 1986. He served as Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command, in Huntsville AL. In this capacity General Stewart managed research efforts in developing ballistic missile defense technology. In 1989 he was reassigned as the Director of Plans, U.S. Space Command, Colorado Spring, CO. General Stewart retired from the Army in 1992 and currently makes his home in Huntsville, AL.