9/1/2022 Debra Levey Larson
Written by Debra Levey Larson
Vanessa Awate is among 30 women from around the globe pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences who received a 2022 Amelia Earhart Fellowship from Zonta International. She earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2020 and is currently working on her Ph.D. with Associate Professor Phillip Ansell.
Awate said her passion for aerospace engineering began when she was a child, but only recently found her focus.
“It was after working on experimental fluid mechanics during my master’s program at Illinois that I discovered my niche as a researcher,” Awate said. “As a doctoral student, I continue to apply aerodynamics knowledge to improve the safety of future air-vehicles.”
After she finishes her degree, Awate would like to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration where she is currently part of the Pathways program within the flow physics branch.
“My long-term goals include starting the first aerospace sciences academy in my home country, Senegal,” she said. “I’d like to tackle gender and racial disparities within the STEM faculty body and search committees and teach at the college level. My experiences as a graduate diversity recruiting ambassador and a summer camp instructor for the Illinois Aerospace Institute helped me realize my passion for teaching and mentoring students who are interested in aerospace.
“As an Amelia Earhart fellowship recipient, I want to build on the legacy of aerospace pioneers, particularly women, and educate the next generation of underrepresented aerospace scientists and engineers,” she said.
Awate studies rotary wing aerodynamics and the dynamic stall process that occurs as these wings move rapidly.
“When oriented at a high angle of attack, a wing stalls,” Awate explained. “The flow separates from the upper surface, and the lift suddenly drops. When a wing is in pitching motion, lift is maintained to a much higher angle of attack. This is the same process that allows birds to maintain lift during perching maneuvers and is also key to rotary wing aerodynamics.
“This complex phenomenon results in a highly unsteady flow field around the wing characterized by the formation of a leading-edge vortex. As the vortex swirls around and sheds away from the wing, it causes the sharp drop in lift, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable. The goal of my Ph.D. research is to understand, predict, and control this prevalent vortex shedding phenomenon,” she said.
For her project, Awate is combining computational and experimental methods to understand the physical underpinnings behind this flow suction criticality around the edges.
“So far, I have developed a preliminary low-order numerical vortex panel method that captures the virtual change in leading-edge shape over time due to the presence of the shedding vortex,” she said. “Low-order methods should only include the most essential physics to achieve computational efficiency.”
Tailored experiments will help distill the leading-edge vortex formation process and provide the essential physics needed to supplement the low order method. Awate said she plans to perform advanced laser diagnostics and high-frequency pressure measurements on an airfoil in a wind tunnel environment. These experiments will help to develop new experimental flow sensing and control capabilities on helicopters, maneuvering aircrafts, and wind turbines.
According to Zonta’s website, women make up about 25 percent of the workforce in the aerospace industry. Its mission is to help provide access for women to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. One of the ways it accomplishes that is to award 30 Amelia Earhart Fellowships each year. For more, and to see the complete list of recipients, visit Zonta’s website.