(Argrow, Brian M - 2023) -- Distinguished Professorship
Overview
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Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2022, Argrow is widely recognized for his pioneering efforts in the design and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to penetrate tornadoes, supercell thunderstorms and other severe weather events, gathering previously unattainable data. These remarkable results required aerodynamic and sensor sophistication, but also the development and utilization of mobile communications networks that enabled highly sophisticated communication and telemetry in incredibly dynamic environments.
Argrow is one of the first pioneers to study and later utilize mobile ad hoc networks to gather scientific information. He also is well-known for his work on atmospherics and low-density gas dynamics that are highly relevant to the development of super- and hypersonic vehicles.
Argrow’s impact extends beyond the scientific and engineering realms. His work on unmanned aircraft systems has been central in shaping the Federal Aviation Administration’s standards of operation for small UAS. His work continues to inform, and at times change, those FAA UAS flight standards. His severe weather work has been helpful in the development of better models to predict severe weather events, and in so doing, to mitigate the loss of property and life to those events.
Argrow is among the lead architects of the nationally and internationally recognized Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences undergraduate curriculum. He served as the associate dean of education in CEAS for five years during a period of incredible growth and transformation in the college. Part of the CU Boulder community since 1992, Argrow has been honored with many awards and accolades for outstanding teaching, service and leadership.
