William Devenport

Alumni Distinguished Professor

Crofton Professor in Engineering
Director of the VT Stability Wind Tunnel
Ph.D., 1985, Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University, Great Britain
B.Sc., 1981, Engineering Science, Exeter University, Great Britain

Aerospace and Ocean Engineering (MC0119)
McBryde Hall, RM 660E, Virginia Tech
225 Stanger St.
Blacksburg, VA 24061

devenport@vt.edu

(540) 231-4456

Prof. Devenport regularly teaches AOE 3114 Aerodynamics and Compressibility, AOE 5104 Advanced Aero/hydrodynamics and AOE5124 Aero/hydroacoustics. He also contributes to elements of AOE 3054 AOE Experimental Methods associated with the Stability Tunnel. His teaching, primarily conducted in lecture format, is based on a belief that effective teaching requires the instructor to understand the perspective of the students, and to put the material in a context that is meaningful and relevant to them. He greatly enjoys adding the historical or technical context of important concepts, and believes strongly that experiments in labs must be experimental (i.e. not demonstrations) and that they must meaningfully engage each individual student in deciding goals, determining how the experiment is conducted and reported.
Courses:
AOE 3114
AOE 5104
AOE 5124

Video of remote experimentation in Stability Wind Tunnel for AOE 3054, Spring 2020

2020-Present, AIAA Aeroacoustics Technical Committee
2020-Present, AIAA Aeroacoustics Award Sub-Committee
2019-Present, Chair NATO AVT-349 working group on non-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers
2018-Present, Member NATO AVT-283/284 working groups on wind tunnel boundary simulation
2019-Present, Chair, AIAA Hybrid Anechoic Wind Tunnel Workshop
2014-2016, Technical Co-Chair, AIAA/CEAS 22^nd Aeroacoustics Conference, Lyon, France, May 30^th – June 1^st, 2016
2014 – 2015, Co-Chair, North American Wind Energy Academy 2015 Symposium, Blacksburg Virginia, June 9-11^th, 2015
2013-2015, AIAA Aeroacoustics Technical Committee
2013-Present, AIAA Fan Broadband Noise Prediction Panel

2019, AIAA Aeroacoustics Award
2017, von Kármán Institute Lecture, Rhode Saint Genese, Belgium
2015, Certificate of Teaching Excellence, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
2015, Virginia Tech Recognition for Contributions to Health and Safety
2013, Virginia Tech Excellence in Access and Inclusion Award, for graduate student mentoring
2012, McDonald-Mehta Lecture, Texas Tech University
2011, Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Outstanding Professor
2007, Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
2006, Elected Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

2013-Present, Director, Center for Renewable Energy and Aerodynamic Testing (CREATe)
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
2004-Present, Director, Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel
College of Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
1999-Present, Professor
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
2008-2016, Assistant Department Head for Facilities
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
2001-2004, W. S. “Pete” White Professor for Innovation in Engineering Education
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
1993-1999, Associate Professor
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
1989 – 1993, Assistant Professor
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH
1985 – 1989, Postdoctoral Researcher/Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, VIRGINIA TECH