Carlos Pinedo
Carlos Pinedo is a Major and a test pilot in the United States Air Force and current PhD student in Aerospace Engineering Sciences with a focus in Bioastronautics. He received his B.S and M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 2005. During his time at MIT he completed internships and fellowships at NASA Armstrong, NASA Langley, and Caltech. His undergraduate research culminated in a thesis studying the aerodynamic benefits of unmanned aerial vehicle formation flying. While his M.S. thesis focused on the effects of a combined 3D auditory/visual cueing system on visual target detection using a helmet-mounted display. Upon graduating from MIT, he commissioned into the Air Force and attended pilot training at Whiting Field, FL and Vance AFB, OK. Following pilot training Carlos was assigned to Dyess AFB, TX where he flew the B-1 in three deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2013, Carlos was selected to attend USAF Test Pilot School completing a M.S. in Flight Test Engineering. His M.S. thesis included a comparison of flight control input methods for aerodynamic parameter estimation for hypersonic vehicles. As a test pilot, Carlos has over 2700 flight hours in 30 unique aircraft. Prior to arriving at CU Boulder, he taught multi-engine flight test techniques at the USAF Test Pilot School. As an avid flyer with a passion for manned spaceflight, his interests are in space human factors, cockpit design, and interfaces for pilots in complex tasks. A native of California, he enjoys all beach related activities, hiking, soccer, traveling, and spending time with his two dogs.
Carlos.Pinedo@colorado.edu