People

Imon Chakraborty
Assistant Professor

Email: imonchakraborty@auburn.edu
Phone: +1-334-844-6821
AU faculty page

Dr. Imon Chakraborty (Ee-mon Chalk-row-boar-tea) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University. He joined Auburn in Fall 2018, and prior to that worked as a Research Engineer at Georgia Tech’s School of Aerospace Engineering. He received his PhD (2015) and Master of Science (2011) degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech and his Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, India (2009). He hails from the city of Kolkata in India. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a member of the AIAA Aircraft Design Technical Committee, and a former member of the AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Technical Committee. He is the Technical Discipline Chair/Co-Chair for Aircraft Design for the AIAA SCITECH Forum. Dr. Chakraborty is an active Private Pilot and owns a Vans RV-6A aircraft. He has flown the Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Diamond DA20, Diamond DA40, and Piper Cherokee/Warrior aircraft.

Rajan Bhandari
Graduate Student

Rajan Bhandari is a graduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University. He is from Nepal. He completed his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at the Institute of Engineering, Thapathali Campus, Nepal. Rajan joined Auburn University and VSDDL in the spring of 2022. He has prior experience working with MATLAB, SOLIDWORKS, and CATIA during his undergraduate studies and professional experience. He is currently working on aircraft design optimization using genetic algorithms with a focus on unconventional air vehicle with all-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion system architectures. He previously participated in the undergraduate design competition organized by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in 2017 and was one of the finalists. He is a student member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Stefanus Harris Putra
Graduate Student

Stefanus Harris Putra is a graduate student in Auburn University’s Aerospace Engineering Department. He joined Auburn in 2018 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in Spring 2022. At VSDDL, his work includes the construction, maintenance, upgrades, and testing for the VSDDL flight simulators. He has helped design various parts for the simulators, including inceptors, control loading devices, projector mounts, and custom rudder pedals. His broad research focus is on aircraft design and sizing. He was the vice president of Sigma Gamma Tau’s Auburn Chapter for the 2021-2022 term. He is a student member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Bikash Kunwar
Graduate Student

Bikash Kunwar (Bee-kash Ku-wor) is a graduate student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University. He joined Auburn in Fall 2022. He received his Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal (2019). After graduation and before starting graduate studies, he worked with a small team of drone enthusiasts in Nepal to design, build, and test lift-plus-cruise type vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing UAV for emergency medicine delivery to rural parts of the country. He is currently working on developing parametric aero-propulsive model for sizing and optimization of Urban Air Mobility Vehicles. He also served as the president of the Society of Mechanical Engineering Students (SOMES), Pulchowk Campus (2018-2019). He is a student member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He also loves to cycle, hike, read books, and write poems. Website: https://b-kunwar.github.io/

Cole McCormick
Graduate Student

Cole McCormick is a graduate student pursuing an Aerospace Engineering doctoral degree at Auburn University. He graduated from Auburn in Spring 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. In Fall 2024 he joined VSDDL and began his graduate studies with a focus on aircraft sizing and optimization. At VSDDL he works on development of subscale aircraft for flight testing and has assisted in assembly of flight simulators. As an undergraduate student Cole was structures lead then lead engineer for Auburn’s Design Build Fly team, where he developed sizing and optimization scripts. He has prior experience with MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C++, XFLR5, AVL, FlightStream, and SOLIDWORKS. He is a student member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and an officer for the Auburn chapter of the Vertical Flight Society (VFS).

Maddie Harper
Graduate Student

Maddie Harper is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree with thesis in aerospace engineering via Auburn’s online graduate program. She graduated from Auburn University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. Alongside her research and classwork, she currently works as a full-time Aeronautical Engineer at Frasca International in Urbana, IL where she develops and maintains aerodynamic, flight dynamics, ground handling, control loading, and propulsion models and supports qualification for flight simulation training devices. Her thesis work includes developing a systematic approach to calibrating propeller-driven aircraft models to flight test data. In her previous studies and work experiences, Maddie has been familiarized with many coding languages and simulation softwares such as MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C++, COMSOL, and FlightStream. She is an active alumni member of the STEM professional and social sorority Alpha Omega Epsilon (AOE) and a member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Anthony Comer
M.S., Ph.D.

Fall 2018 – Fall 2024
Ph.D. Dissertation: A Generalized Flight Control Architecture for Transitioning Flight Vehicles with Flight Test Validation
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-comer-9270431a7/

Aashutosh Aman Mishra
M.S., Ph.D.

Fall 2019 – Summer 2025
Ph.D. Dissertation: An Integrated Methodology for Flight Vehicle Sizing
Subject to Stability and Control Constraints
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mishra-aashutosh/

Benjamin Davis
M.S.

Fall 2022 – Summer 2025
M.S. Thesis: Application of a Vortex Lattice Method Solver to an Aircraft Sizing Framework
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-davis-b6268124a/