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Lieutenant Colonel Judson Babcock

Assistant Professor

Department of Aeronautics

Official photo of Major Judson Babcock
Contact Information

(719) 333-9200

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Bio

Lieutenant Colonel Babcock commissioned as a U.S. Air Force graduate from the class of 2004, after which he completed his master’s degree at the Air Force Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering, specializing in computational fluid dynamics. As a developmental engineer, he was assigned at the Air Force SEEK EAGLE office where he specialized in computational fluid dynamics on a wide variety of Air Force aircraft and weapons. Following that, he was assigned to the Air Force Research Laboratory (Munitions Directorate) where he specialized in micro-air vehicle aerodynamics and control in a $3M in a low-speed wind tunnel. At that time, he was accepted and began his doctorate studies at the University of Florida, culminating in a dissertation entitled “Aeroservoelastic Design for Closed-Loop Flight Dynamics of a MAV”. After graduating with his Ph.D., he was assigned as a program manager in the F-16 program office where he managed an urgent operational need program with a $1.6B budget and a team of over 90 people. He was assigned to the Department of Aeronautics in 2016 where he currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics, specializing in flight mechanics and flight control.

Education

PhD, Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Florida (2013)

MS, Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, WPAFB, Ohio (2006)

BS, Aeronautical Engineering, US Air Force Academy, Colorado (2004)

Professional Experience

Mar 2006 – Mar 2008, Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer, Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office, Eglin AFB, Florida

Mar 2008 – Aug 2010, Autonomous Control Research Engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin AFB, Florida

Aug 2013 – Jun 2016, F-16 Program Manager, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, WPAFB, Ohio

Honors & Awards

Meritorious Service Medal

Joint Service Commendation Medal

Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars

Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border

Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with Bronze Service Star

Excellence in Competition Pistol Badge

Schützenschnur German Armed Forces Badge of Marksmanship in Gold

Skydemærket Royal Danish Army Marksmanship Badge in Silver

61st Arthur S. Flemming Award for Applied Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (US Air Force nominee)

Research and Scholarly Interests

Flight dynamics and control

Aeroelasticity

Modern design of experiments

Publications

Babcock, Judson and Lind, Rick. “Aeroelastic Effects of Battens on the Flight Dynamics of a MAV.”' The Aeronautical Journal, Boston, MA, August 2013. AIAA 2013-4744 Vol 118, No. 1207, September 2014, pp. 985-1008

Babcock, Judson and Albertani, Roberto. “Experimental Estimation of the Rotary Damping Coefficients of a Pliant Wing.”' Journal of Aircraft, Vol 29, No. 2, 2012, pp. 390-397.

Randall, Ryan, Shkarayev, Sergey, Abate, Gregg, and Babcock, Judson. “Longitudinal Aerodynamics of a Rapidly-Pitching Fixed-Wing Micro Air Vehicle.” Journal of Aircraft Vol 49, No. 2, 2012, pp. 453-471.

Babcock, Judson and Lind, Rick. “Control Synthesis for Virtually Changing Wing Stiffness.” AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference. Boston, MA, August 2013. AIAA 2013-4845

Babcock, Judson and Lind, Rick. “A Frequency-Domain Interpretation of Gust Alleviation for an Aeroservoelastic Aircraft.” AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference. Boston, MA, August 2013. AIAA 2013-4744

Babcock, Judson and Lind, Rick. “Aeroelastic Effects of Wing Stiffness on the Flight Dynamics of a MAV.” AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference. Minneapolis, MN, August 2012. AIAA 2012-4400