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About Robert A. Frederick Jr.

Dr. Frederick is Director of the UAH Propulsion Research Center. He has overseen over 6.0 million dollars externally funded research in solid propellant combustion, combustion stability of liquid injectors, hybrid fuel combustion, thermal stability of hydrocarbon fuels, and characterization of rocket plume emissions. His research has experimentally revealed important combustion phenomena in the area of solid, liquid, and hybrid propellants. He pioneered an international, team-based design laboratory that integrates students and industry mentors from engineering, Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and business disciplines. Dr. Frederick is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA and member of the American Society of Engineering Educators. He has served as the national chairman of the AIAA Hybrid Rocket Technical Committee and the U.S. Representative for the Air Force and Navy to a NATO Advisory Group on solid propellant burning rate measurements. Dr. Frederick received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University in 1988. His professional experience includes positions at Allison Turbine Engines, the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, and Sverdrup Technology, AEDC Group. In 1991, he joined the UAH Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Positions

August 2009 - Present Professor, The University of Alabama in Huntsville ‐ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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May 2008 - Present Director of UAH Propulsion Research Center, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
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September 1991 - Present Faculty Member, The University of Alabama in Huntsville ‐ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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January 2011 - August 2011 Interim Department Chair, The University of Alabama in Huntsville ‐ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
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January 1988 - June 1991 Engineer, Sverdrup Technology Inc. AEDC Group ‐ Propulsion Diagnostics Technology Group
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Disciplines

Research Interests

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Courses

  • MAE 455: Design of Thermal Systems
  • MAE 490: Introduction to Engineering Design
  • MAE 540: Rocket Propulsion
  • MAE 640: Rocket Propulsion II

Education

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1983 - 1988 Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University
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1981 - 1982 M.S. in Engineering, Purdue University
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1976 - 1980 B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
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Contact Information

320 Sparkman dr.
Olin B. King Technology Hall
Room S226
Huntsville, AL 35899

robert.frederick@uah.edu
256-824-7200