About the Author

David Schmidt was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and attended Purdue University where he received the B. S. degree, cum laude, in Aeronautical Engineering. He later received the M. S. degree from the University of Southern California and the Ph.D from Purdue, both in aerospace engineering. Prior to his graduate studies he served on the technical staff of the Douglas, and then the McDonnell Douglas Missiles and Space Corporation. After first supporting the Apollo program in the development of the Saturn booster, he became Engineering Lead in a preliminary vehicle-design group of the Advanced Systems and Technology Division. Upon completion of his graduate education, he served on the technical staff of the Stanford Research Institute, focusing on research in systems analysis and optimization of air transportation systems.

Dr. Schmidt’s academic career began when he joined the faculty of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue, where he served as professor of aeronautics and astronautics for 14 years. He then joined the faculty of Arizona State University, where he served as professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering for six years. He later moved to the University of Maryland at College Park, where he served as professor of aerospace engineering for an additional six years. Lastly, he was invited to join the faculty at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he helped establish the brand new Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He retired from the University of Colorado in 2006, and was appointed Professor Emeritus. While at Arizona State Dr. Schmidt served as the founding director of the Aerospace Research Center in the College of Engineering, and while at the University of Maryland he served as the founding director of the Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. His teaching was recognized at several of these institutions through many prestigious teaching awards.

In addition to his earlier industrial experience, in 1978 Dr. Schmidt was invited to serve as a summer faculty fellow at the USAF Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, and in 1984–85 he served as a visiting sabbatical professor at NASA’s Langley Research Center. He has been an invited member of several national review panels, including the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) National Research Council (NRC) Review Panel for a Decadal Study of NASA Aeronautics Research, the NAE’s NRC Committee on Advanced Supersonic Technology, and the NAE’s NRC Committee on High-Speed Research. Furthermore, he has served as an invited member of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board’s Science and Technology Panel on Vehicles and Power, and in 1996 he served as the General Conference Chair for the Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). In 1991–93 he also chaired the AIAA National Technical Committee on Guidance, Navigation, and Control.

Dr. Schmidt is the author of over 200 research articles on flight dynamics, air-traffic control systems, and man-machine control systems, and he has been invited to lecture worldwide on his research. From 2001–2009 he was a member of the AIAA’s Education Editorial Board, and from 1988–1991 he was associate editor of the AIAA’s Journal of Dynamics, Guidance, and Control. He is listed in Who’s Who in America, and is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau engineering honor societies. In 1997, Dr. Schmidt received AIAA’s highest honor in the field of flight dynamics and control when he was awarded the national Mechanics and Control of Flight Award. He is a fellow of the AIAA.