Dr. Umberto Saetti

Dr. Umberto Saetti is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at University of Maryland. Prior to University of Maryland, he held appointments as Assistant Professor at Auburn University, as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech, and as Visiting Scholar at the U.S. Army Aviation Development Directorate at NASA Ames. Dr. Saetti holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (with a minor in Computational Science), an M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, and an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He received his B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Dr. Saetti's research focuses on modeling, simulation, order reduction, and control of high-order models of the coupled flight dynamics, interactional aerodynamics, and aeroacoustics of rotary- and flapping-wing vehicles. These models are used for studies involving immersive simulations that make use of Extended Reality (XR), human-machine interaction, synthesis of advanced flight control laws, and development of innovative pilot cueing methods. Click here for more info on my lab's current research activities and experimental capabilities.

Dr. Saetti is the recipient of the 2022 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (ONR YIP) award. Additionally, he received the Barnes McCormick Memorial Scholarship, awarded by the Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) for outstanding accomplishments as a doctoral candidate in the vertical flight field.