Karl Bilimoria

B.Tech., Aeronautical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology – Kanpur, 1982
M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1984
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1986

Dr. Karl Bilimoria is an aerospace engineer in the Flight Trajectory Dynamics and Controls branch at NASA Ames Research Center, where he has worked since 1994, leading research projects in the areas of air traffic management, spacecraft handling qualities, and space traffic management. After earning his doctoral degree from Virginia Tech, he began his career as an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Arizona State University.

Dr. Bilimoria is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Air Transportation and previously served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, as well as Guest Editor for a special issue of the Air Traffic Control Quarterly. He has served on four AIAA national committees, including the Publications Committee where he chaired the Books sub-committee. He is a recipient of AIAA’s Sustained Service Award.

Dr. Bilimoria has published over 100 technical articles on the dynamics and control of aerospace vehicles. He has received numerous professional awards, including the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal for his work in air traffic management. He is a co-inventor of the Future Air traffic management Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET), which has received two U.S. patents and prestigious awards from NASA, FAA, and AIAA. He led a team that received two NASA Group Achievement Awards for their work in spacecraft handling qualities, conducting a series of piloted flight simulation studies to build a knowledge base of pilot control systems and cockpit displays for the next generation of crewed spacecraft; over 30 astronauts from the Space Shuttle and Apollo programs participated in these
studies. Dr. Bilimoria was a finalist in the 1996 NASA Astronaut Candidate selection.