William Garrard
Professor & Director Minnesota Space Grant Consortium

Professor Garrard's work concentrates on mathematical modeling, optimization and control of aerospace vehicles, flight dynamics of aerodynamic decelerator systems, and student satellites. Recent projects have included precision pointing of scientific instruments suspended from high-altitude balloons, student satellites, student high altitude balloons, and supersonic parachutes for planetary entry. He has published over 100 technical papers and has received external research funding from NASA, NSF, U. S. DOT, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, Sandia Labs, and private industry.

In 1996, Garrard received the Educational Award for Excellence from the U.S. Army Soldier System Command for his work in parachute systems. Garrard is a Fellow in AIAA “For a career of outstanding contributions to aerospace engineering education, to the development of methods for advanced flight controls, and to aerodynamic decelerator technology. In 2003, he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the AIAA in recognition for "the many years of organizing, coordinating, and conducting the H. G. Heinrich Parachute Systems Short Course and for the large number of parachute engineers it has produced." In 2006, Garrard was selected as the recipient of the J. Leland Atwood award. This award is jointly sponsored by ASEE and AIAA and is presented to recognize a recent outstanding educational achievement and to encourage innovative improvements in aerospace education.

Garrard is Director of the NASA Funded Minnesota Space Grant Consortium.

Degrees

B.S., Mech. Engineering, University of Texas-Austin, 1962
Ph.D., Engineering Mech., University of Texas-Austin, 1968

Experience

Spring 1995: Visiting Scientist CERT/ONERA (Centre d'Etude et de Recherches de Toulouse/Office National d'Etudes et Recherches Ae'rospatiales) Toulouse, France
1991 - 2006: Department Head Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota
1991 - Present: Director, Minnesota Space Grant Consortium Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota
1986 - Present: Professor Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota
1983 - 1991: Associate Department Head Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota
1973 - 1986: Associate Professor Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota
1967 - 1973: Assistant Professor Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Minnesota

Five Recent Publications

Vibhor Bageshwar, Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, William L. Garrard, Tryphon T. Georgiou, 2009, Stochastic Observability Test for Discrete-Time Kalman Filters, Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, , (Journal Article) More Details
Joseph Mueller, Yiyuan Zhao, and William L. Garrard, 2009, Optimal Ascent Trajectories for Stratospheric Airships Using Wind Energy, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, , (Journal Article) More Details
J. Mueller, Y. Zhao, and W. Garrard, 2009, Sensitivity and Solar Power Analysis of Optimal Trajectories for Autonomous Airships, AIAA Guidance and Control Conference, AIAA-2009-6014, (Journal Article) More Details
Vladmyr Gidzak, Michael Barnhardt, Travis Drayna, Iaonnis Nompelis, Graham Candler, and William Garrard, 2009, Comparison of Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulations of the MSL Parachute with Wind Tunnel Tests, AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Conference, AIAA-2009-2971, (Journal Article) More Details
Bageswhar, Vibhor, Gebre-Egziabher, Demoz, Garrard, William, Shestople, Paul, and Adams, Michael, 2008, Inertially-Aided Vector Matching Algorithm for Attitude Determination of Spin Stabilized Satellites, AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, AIAA 2008-6295, (Journal Article) More Details

See more publications

Honors and Awards

2006 - 2007 Aerospace Division ASEE/AIAA John Leland Atwood Award: Background
2005 Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Background
2003 AIAA Certificate of Appreciation from Aerodynamic Decelerator Committee: Background
1996 Educational Award for Excellence from the U. S. Army Soldier Systems Command: Background

Consulting, Patents, etc.

Honeywell Inc. (1971-83)
Boeing Military Airplane Co. (1981)
Pioneer Recovery Systems Inc. (1981)
Rapid Deployment Parachute Co. (1986-1989)
Raytheon Missile Systems Division (1975)
Ballistic Recovery Systems Co. (1987)
FluiDyne Engineering (1988)
MTS Systems (1988) Rosemount Inc. (1971)
Stewart and Stevenson (1989)
Thiokol Space Services Division (1992)
Alliant Tech Systems (1993)

Short Courses Parachute Systems Technology:

Fundamentals, Concepts, and Applications, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (1982, 1998)
Sandia Labs, Albuquerque, NM (1985)
DFVLR, Munich, Germany (1987)
Natick, MA, 1990, Toulouse, France (1992); Cocoa Beach, Florida (1992); Houston, TX (1994)

Scientific and Professional Societies

Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
Member AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Technical Committee, 1981-1984, 1996-2003
Member AIAA, Guidance and Control Technical Committee, 1977-1980
Member SAE Aerospace Control and Guidance Systems Committee 1990 – present
Member AIAA Academic Affairs Committee, 2003-2006
Chair AIAA Academic Affairs Committee, 2007-2010
Member ASEE