Iain Boyd

Boyd discusses unexplained aerial phenomena with Popular Mechanics

May 17, 2023

Iain Boyd discusses research into unidentified aerial phenomena in a new Popular Mechanics article. Boyd is a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and director of the CU Boulder Center for National Security Initiatives. The piece focuses on renewed military efforts to study unexplained...

Iain Boyd

Popular Mechanics interviews Boyd on hypersonic weapons tracking

March 29, 2023

Iain Boyd was interviewed for a new article in Popular Mechanics on efforts to track hypersonic weapons. At issue? Hypersonic weapons often travel at fast enough speeds to generate a sheath of plasma, which can obscure them to radar. Traditional missiles travel at comparably slower speeds and are much easier...

Iain Boyd

Boyd featured in multiple media outlets on spy balloon

Feb. 13, 2023

Iain Boyd was interviewed by national and international outlets on the balloon from China that overflew the United States. A professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Boyd is also the director of the CU Boulder Center for National Security Initiatives. He spoke to multiple...

Spy Balloon

Chinese spy balloon over the US: An aerospace expert explains

Feb. 13, 2023

The U.S. military shot down what officials have called a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4, 2023. Iain Boyd, professor of aerospace engineering sciences, explains how the balloons work and what they can see. Read it on The Conversation.

Iain Boyd

Boyd discusses hypersonic weapons with Newsweek

Jan. 2, 2023

Professor Iain Boyd discusses the War in Ukraine and Russia's use of hypersonic weapons in a new article in Newsweek. Boyd, who is also the director of the CU Boulder Center for National Security Initiatives , is a leading researcher in hypersonic aerothermodynamics. Hypersonic weapons present major new challenges to...

Rendering of Orion reentering Earth's atmosphere

A NASA spacecraft will soon enter Earth’s atmosphere at nearly 25,000 mph. What will happen next?

Dec. 9, 2022

Sunday at around 10:40 a.m. MT, NASA’s Orion spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean after its several week-long journey to the moon and back. Space buffs can tune into NASA's livestream to witness some extreme physics—what will be the last leg of the historic Artemis 1 mission, which...

Iain Boyd

Boyd discusses Ukraine, missile defense with Newsweek

Nov. 2, 2022

Professor Iain Boyd discusses Ukraine's missile defenses and hypersonic weapons in a new article in Newsweek. Boyd, who is also the director of the CU Boulder Center for National Security Initiatives , is a leading researcher in hypersonic aerothermodynamics. Hypersonic weapons present major new challenges to national defense systems for...

Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System.

A game of numbers: Why Ukraine is eager for more air defense resources

Oct. 20, 2022

What will it take for Ukraine to defend against the ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and explosive drones raining down on the country? The question is not so much what as how many. Iain Boyd has written a new column in The Conversation on missile defense systems, how they work, and...

Iain Boyd

Boyd featured in two national media stories on American technology in China's hypersonics program

Oct. 19, 2022

Iain Boyd was interviewed by the Washington Post and Fox News for related pieces on American technology being used in China's hypersonics program despite export controls designed to prevent sales to foreign entities deemed a threat to U.S. national security. Boyd, a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department...

Iain Boyd

Boyd talks hypersonics in Modern CTO podcast

Oct. 11, 2022

Modern CTO spoke with Iain Boyd on "the Sputnik moment of hypersonics", how hypersonics play a role in defense initiatives around the world, and NASA’s role in supporting the private space industry. Boyd, a professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, is also the director...

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