Richard Barnwell

B.S., Auburn University
M.S., Auburn University
Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech

Professional History
Richard Barnwell joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1995, serving in residence at the Virginia Consortium of Engineering and Science Universities Ph.D. program in Hampton, Virginia.   He was conferred with the title professor emeritus in 2006.

He is an internationally recognized researcher who established himself as a major contributor in many different areas of theoretical, computational, and experimental aerodynamics.  His contributions include helicopter rotor-fuselage interactions and wind-tunnel wall interference effects, as well as numerous contributions to theoretical boundary layer theory understanding for two-dimensional and three-dimensional turbulent flows, transonic and hypersonic aerodynamics, and reentry physics.  He also made key contributions to the prediction of the aerodynamic loading environment on NASA’s Space Shuttle thermal protection tiles.

Select Awards and Recognition
Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal