Principle Investigator

Victor Maldonado, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Texas Tech University
Email: Victor.maldonado@ttu.edu
Phone: 806.834.4259
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Victor Maldonado is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Enginering at Texas Tech University since 2019. He received his Ph.D. degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2012, in the field of applied fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. Previously he was a postdoctoral scholar at Texas Tech University (2012-2013) and assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio (2013 to 2018). He was awarded the NSF CAREER Award in 2018 for his work to understand high-Re experimental rotor blade flows and use secondary vortex structures using synthetic jets to control near-wall momentum and vorticity to improve the rotor figure of merit and mitigate unsteady blade vibration. His research interests are in the aerodynamic design of aircraft and components with the use of flow control techniques to improve performance in three areas – aerodynamics, aeroelasticity, and aeroacoustics.