AE Seminar Speaker James Scoggins: Predictive Modeling in Aerothermodynamics: Integrating First-Principles and Data-Driven Methods
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- Aerospace Engineering
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- Aerospace Engineering Seminars
Abstract:
Aerothermodynamics lies at the intersection of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and non-equilibrium chemical kinetics, governing the behavior of high-speed, high-enthalpy flows with applications ranging from hypersonic flight and atmospheric entry to meteoroid phenomena and electric propulsion. In the context of atmospheric entry vehicles, a wide range of coupled physical processes give rise to extreme heating environments that must be accurately predicted to ensure crew safety and mission success.In this talk, I will present an overview of the key physical mechanisms that control aerothermal loads during atmospheric entry and discuss recent advances in multiscale computational modeling for their prediction. I will highlight research contributions spanning radiation–material coupling, nonequilibrium gas dynamics, and physics-informed neural networks for hypersonic wake flow reconstruction, and describe how physics-based models can be systematically enhanced using data-driven methods. The talk will conclude with a perspective on future research directions aimed at enabling high-confidence aerothermodynamic prediction for next-generation hypersonic and atmospheric entry systems.
Bio:
Dr. James B. Scoggins is a Research Aerospace Engineer in the Aerothermodynamics Branch at NASA Langley Research Center. He received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in 2017 from CentraleSupélec (France) and the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Belgium), where his dissertation focused on coupled shock-layer radiation and thermal protection material response for atmospheric entry vehicles.Prior to joining NASA in 2020, Dr. Scoggins was a Hadamard Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Applied Mathematics at École Polytechnique, where he developed machine-learning methods for the numerical solution of partial differential equations. His current research focuses on advancing predictive computational tools for atmospheric entry vehicle simulation and design by integrating physics-based modeling with data-driven techniques.
Dr. Scoggins has contributed to several flight projects, including Artemis I & II and Mars 2020, and currently serves as Aerothermal Lead for the aerocapture demonstrator mission ARRIVAL. He is the creator and lead developer of the open-source thermochemical library Mutation++ and an active member of the AIAA Thermophysics Technical Committee. His honors include the 2024 AIAA Thermophysics Best Paper Award, a NASA KSC Group Achievement Award, and a NASA LaRC CIF/IRAD grant.