Brian German is the director of the Center for Urban and Regional Air Mobility and the National Institute of Aerospace Langley Associate Professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. German is an expert in the design, optimization, and performance analysis of aircraft with electric propulsion.
Much of German’s work has focused on modeling battery performance for eVTOL and electric regional aircraft and studying the impact of recharge time and battery replacement costs on UAM operations and economics. He has also led several NASA-sponsored research projects related to UAM operations, focusing on topics such as vertiport placement and network simulation. German regularly leads student teams to develop, prototype, and conduct flight tests of novel electric aircraft designs.
“The idea of urban air mobility is exciting because it represents the opportunity to reinvent both the aircraft and the entire aviation enterprise,” German shares. “The Vertical Flight Society is now tracking over 150 widely differing eVTOL aircraft designs that are currently in development, and we do not yet know which type will be most successful for urban aviation.”
Learn more about German’s research here.