John Farnsworth

Focus Area

Unsteady Aerodynamics • Active and Passive Flow Control Techniques • Turbulence • Fluid-Structure Interactions • Wind Energy • Wildland Fire and Combustion Flows • Land-Atomosphere Interactions

Research Interests

Experimental Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics • Unsteady Aerodynamics • Active and Passive Flow Control Techniques • Turbulence • Fluid-Structure Interactions • Experimental Fluid Dynamics Measurement Techniques and Flow Visualization • Renewable Energy Applications (i.e. Wind Energy, Wave Energy, etc.) • Environmental Flows (i.e. Wildland Fire and Combustion, Land-Atomosphere Interactions, etc.) • Bilogically Inspired Fluid Flow (i.e. Animal Flight) • Collaborative Experiments and Computational Simulations

Educational Background

Ph.D., Aeronautical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2011
M.S., Aeronautical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2007
B.S., Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2006

Professional Background

August 2023 to Present: Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
August 2014 to August 2023: Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
Summer 2020: Summer Faculty Fellow, Aerospace Systems Directorate (RQ), Air Force Research Laboratory
August 2011 to July 2014: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Aeronautics Research Center, United States Air Force Academy
January 2008 to May 2011: Graduate Research Assistant, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polythechnic Institute
Summer 2008, 2009, 2010: Graduate NREIP Intern, Vehicle Dynamics and Signature Control Branch, Naval Undersea Warfare Center
August 2006 to December 2007: Graduate Teaching Assistant, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polythechnic Institute
Summer 2006: Graudate Research Scholar, Aerodynamic Configurations Branch, NASA Langley Research Center
August 2004 to May 2006: Undergraduate Research Assistant, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polythechnic Institute

Selected Teaching Activities

ASEN 2002 - Introduction to Thermodynamics and Aerodynamics (F2015, F2016, F2017)
ASEN 3111 - Aerodynamics (F2018, F2019, S2021, S2022, S2023)
ASEN 5051 - Fundamentals of Fluid Dynamics (F2014, F2020, F202)
ASEN 5121 - Boundary Layers and Convection (S2019, S2022, S2023)
ASEN 6011 - Experimental Fluid Mechanics (S2016, F2018, F2020, F2023)

Selected Awards

Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Class of 2023.
Most Comprehensive Flow Visualization Award, 23rd AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference, 2017 AIAA Aviation Forum.
Michael A. Sadowsky Prize, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2007.
Honorable Mention, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, 2007.
Honorable Mention, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, 2006.

Synergistic Activities

Lifetime Member, American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics.
Lifetime Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Co-Founder, Annual Rocky Mountain Fluid Mechanics Research Symposium.
Member, AIAA Fluid Dynamics Technical Commitee (2022 - Present).
Member, AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Technical Commitee (2012 - 2018).