• Brian German
  • Assistant Professor

Contact Information

Office: ESM 205
Phone: 404.385.3299
  • brian.german@aerospace.gatech.edu

Education

  • B.S., Aerospace Engineering, 1999, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • M.S., Aerospace Engineering, 2000, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, 2007, Georgia Institute of Technology

Biography

Dr. German is an assistant professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering with research interests in the areas of aerospace design theory and aerodynamics. His work in design theory focuses on fundamental questions about the logical, mathematical, economic, and societal nature of the aerospace conceptual design problem including what can and cannot be expected to be known and/or predicted about proposed future complex systems and how available information can be maximally leveraged. Dr. German also works in design space visualization, exploration, and optimization, with a particular emphasis on characterizing the mathematical nature of design spaces through topological, geometric, and algebraic methods. These focus areas in design theory are collectively intended to provide practical understanding to guide applied design studies of complex engineered systems in relevant real-world problems. In the area of aerodynamics, Dr. German’s work is currently centered on theoretical and computational methods for fluid dynamic similarity with distorted models based on computational coordinate mapping approaches. Applications for these methods include fluid dynamic experimental testing, airfoil inverse design, and the aerodynamics of morphing airfoils.

Research

Design theory of aerospace and other complex engineered systems, including:

  • Bounds of knowledge and prediction in the “wicked problem” of conceptual design of complex systems based on information and complexity theory and related constructs
  • Mathematical characterization of design spaces and their elementary components through topological, geometric, and coordinate mapping concepts
  • Design space visualization and exploration methods
  • Multi-disciplinary analysis and optimization (MDAO) methods

Aerodynamics and general fluid dynamics

  • Fluid dynamic similarity with distorted models enabled by computational methods
  • Reduced-order, integral equation, and surrogate models for aircraft configuration aerodynamics of modern flight vehicles for use in conceptual design

Honors and Distinctions

  • Fulbright Scholar, 2002-2003
  • National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellow, 1999-2002
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellow, 1999
  • AIAA Gordon C. Oates Air Breathing Propulsion Graduate Award, 2001

Selected Publications

  • German, Brian J., “Laplacian Equivalents to Subsonic Potential Flows”, AIAA Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, 2009.
  • German, Brian J., and Sivakumar, H., “Laplacian Equivalents to Subsonic Cascade Flows”, 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Orlando, FL, January 5-8, 2009.
  • Marsaw, A., German, B., Hollingsworth, P., Mavris, D. and Csonka, S., “An Interactive Visualization Environment for Decision Making in Aircraft Engine Preliminary Design,” 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, NV, January 8-11, 2007.
  • Roth, B., German, B., Mavris, D., and Macsotai, N., “Adaptive Selection of Engine Technology Solution Sets From A Large Combinatorial Space,” 37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, July 9-11, 2001.