About Dr. Chopra

Dr. Inderjit Chopra is an Alfred Gessow Professor in Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center at the University of Maryland. Also, he was the Minta-Martin Research Professor from 1996 to 2000.

After receiving his Sc. D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977, he joined the NASA Ames/Stanford University Joint Institute of Aeronautics & Acoustics, where he worked for four and half years on the development of aeroelastic analyses and testing of advanced helicopter rotor systems.
In 1981, he joined the University Maryland as an Associate Professor, and got promoted to Full Professor in 1986. He has been working on various fundamental problems related to aeromechanics of helicopters including aeromechanical stability, active vibration control, modeling of composite blades, rotor head health monitoring, aeroelastic optimization, smart structures, micro air vehicles, and comprehensive aeromechanics analyses of bearingless, tilt-rotor, servo-flap, coaxial, compound, teetering and circulation control rotors. His direct graduate advising resulted in 38 Ph.D. and 66 M.S. degrees. He acted as the Department Chairman from 1988-1990.

Dr. Chopra has been the principal investigator of four major research programs:

1. Army's University Research Initiative (URI) (1992-97) on "Smart-Structures Technology: Innovations and Applications to Rotorcraft Systems"
2. Army's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) (1996-2001) on "Innovative Smart Technologies for Actively Controlled Jet-Smooth Rotorcraft"
3. Army/NASA's "Rotary-Wing Center of Excellence" (1982-2006) and
4. Army’s MURI (2004-09) on “Micro Hovering Air Vehicles: Revolutionary Concepts and Navigational Advancements.”

An author of over 160 archival journal papers and over 260 conference proceedings papers, Dr. Chopra has been an associate editor of the

• Journal of the American Helicopter Society (1987-91) and the
• AIAA Journal of Aircraft (1987-cont.) and Journal of Intelligent Materials and Systems (1997-cont.)

Also, he has been a member of the editorial advisory board of four journals:

1. VERTICA (1987-91)
2. Smart Materials and Structures (1994-01)
3. SADHANA (1991-95) and
4. Journal of Aircraft (2002-cont.)

Dr. Chopra was awarded the:

• 1992 UM's Distinguished Research Professorship
• 1995 UM's Presidential Award for Outstanding Service to the Schools
• 2002 AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Award
• 2002 AHS Grover E. Bell Award
• 2001 ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Prize
• 2002 A. J. Clark School of Engineering Faculty Outstanding Research Award, and
• 2004 SPIE Smart Structures & Materials Lifetime Achievement Award

Member of:

• Army Science Board (1997-2002).
• Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Fellow of the American Helicopter Society (AHS)
• Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
• Fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India (ASI) and
• Fellow of the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA)