SBU Mechanical Engineering Professor Wins Young Investigator Award to Transform Aircraft Design Through Rapid Prototyping
Assistant Professor William Stewart of Stony Brook University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering has received a prestigious Young Investigator Award for research that could transform the future of engineering design, autonomous systems,
and aerial robotics.
Dr. Stewart’s award-winning project, “Using Anarchistic Science to Elucidate Autogyro Design Principles,” will receive $250,000 per year for three to five years to investigate a new approach to engineering development—one that moves beyond traditional simulation-heavy design processes and embraces rapid prototyping and real-world experimentation.
Rethinking the Engineering Design Process
For decades, modern engineering has relied on computational modeling as the foundation of system development. Engineers typically use mathematical models to predict performance, optimize designs, and identify the best solutions before building a physical prototype.
While this approach has enabled remarkable technological advances, engineering simulations do not perfectly represent the real world. Once a system is built, engineers often must make adjustments to account for differences between models and reality, including manufacturing variations, unexpected interactions between components, inaccuracies in simulations, and unforeseen performance challenges.
Dr. Stewart’s research explores a different strategy: an experiment-driven engineering process that prioritizes building, testing, and improving prototypes rather than relying primarily on simulation before fabrication.
Advances in modern manufacturing, 3D printing, sensors, computing hardware, and commercially available components have made rapid experimentation faster and more affordable than ever before. This creates an opportunity to rethink how complex engineering systems are designed and optimized.
Developing a New Generation of Autonomous Aerial Systems
Dr. Stewart's team will use this new approach to engineer a new class of aerial robots: autogyros. Autogyros are a class of aircraft similar to helicopters but with unpowered rotor blades. Instead, the blades windmill as the vehicle moves through the air. The result is a UAV that combines the agility of a quadcopter with the range and flight time of an airplane. Such robots have many potential uses, including search and rescue, scientific data collection, infrastructure inspection and maintenance, law enforcement activities, and delivery.
Through this Young Investigator Award, Dr. Stewart and his team are helping shape the future of mechanical engineering by exploring a new model for innovation—one driven by experimentation, adaptability, and the rapid development of real-world solutions.