• Dr. Paul Bevilaqua
  • SkunkWorks
  • 108 Surge Building
  • 4:00 p.m.
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Pradeep Raj

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a single aircraft developed to meet the multirole fighter requirements of the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and our allies. The Air Force variant is a supersonic, single engine stealth fighter. The Navy variant has a larger wing and more robust structure in order to operate from an aircraft carrier, while the Marine Corps variant incorporates an innovative propulsion system that can be switched from a turbofan cycle to a turboshaft cycle for vertical takeoff and landing. This novel propulsion system enabled the X-35 demonstrator to become the first aircraft in history to fly at supersonic speeds, hover, and land vertically.  The F-35 program grew out of a design study of a supersonic replacement for the AV-8 Harrier, through the absorption of several other tactical aircraft initiatives. It became an international program with engineers from half a dozen countries developing a replacement for multiple aircraft types.

Biography:

Dr. Paul Bevilaqua has spent much of his career developing Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft. He joined Lockheed Martin as the Chief Aeronautical Scientist and became Chief Engineer of the Skunk Works, where he played a leading role in creating the Joint Strike Fighter.  He invented the dual cycle propulsion system that made it possible to build a stealthy supersonic VSTOL Strike Fighter, and suggested that conventional and naval variants of this aircraft could be developed for all three services.  He then led the engineering team that demonstrated the feasibility of building such an aircraft.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, he was Manager of Advanced Programs at Rockwell International’s Navy aircraft plant, where he led the design of VSTOL interceptor and transport aircraft. He began his career as an Air Force officer at Wright Patterson AFB, where he developed an ejector lift system for an Air Force VSTOL Search and Rescue Aircraft.

He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.  He has received numerous awards including AIAA, SAE, ASME, and AHS Aircraft Design Awards, USAF Scientific Achievement Award, Lockheed Martin AeroStar and Nova Awards, and the Design Magazine’s “Engineer of the Year” award.

Paul received a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and MS and PhD degrees in Aeronautics from Purdue University.  He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Cranfield University in the UK.