Bio
Captain Aaron Bauer is an instructor of mechanical engineering at the United States Air Force Academy. After commissioning, his first assignment was to the Air Force Institute of Technology, where he completed his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering with a focus in air-breathing propulsion and heat transfer. Following that, Capt Bauer worked as a Warhead Design engineer for the Air Force Research Labs developing advanced materials and manufacturing methods for warhead casing as well as being the test lead for an air-to-air weapon concept demonstration program. During a 6 month period of this time, he was selected to be a Project Arc engineer, delivering rapid solutions to operational units near Eglin AFB.
Courses Taught
Mech Engr 220 – Fundamentals of Mechanics
Mech Engr 491 – Senior Capstone Design
Education
Master of Science, Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2020
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, United States Air Force Academy, 2018
Professional Experience
Instructor of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado (June 2023 − Present)
Warhead Design Engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate, Eglin AFB, Florida (May 2020 − May 2023)
Project Arc Engineer, 513th EWS/96TW/1SOW, Eglin AFB/ Hurlburt AFB, Florida (April 2022-Sept 2022)
Masters Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (2018 – 2020)
Honors & Awards
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Meritorious Unit Award
Air and Space Organizational Excellence Award
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air and Space Longevity Service Award, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
Air and Space Training Ribbon
Other Notable Awards
Best Thesis – Structures and Materials, AFIT, March 2020
Distinguished Graduate – AFIT, Top 10%, March 2020
Louis F. Polk Award – AFIT, March 2020
Academic Distinction – USAFA, 60/997, May 2018
Research and Scholarly Interests
Additive Manufacturing, Robotics, Design, Thermofluidic Sciences
Publications
Bauer, Aaron P., “Design, Development, and Testing of a Low Cost, Additively-Manufactured, Centrifugal Compressor” (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 3208. https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/3208
Aaron Bauer, Michael L. Anderson, Richard DePaola, Charles Chimento, Collin Gwaltney, Noah Taylor and Kaz Teope. “Methods for Deploying Payloads from Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Systems,” AIAA 2019-1285. AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum. January 2019. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-1285
Jensen, D. D., & Wood, K. L., & Bauer, A. P., & Perez, B., & Doria, M., & Anderson, M. L., & Jensen, L. (2018, June), A Bio-Inspired Mind Map to Assist in Concept Generation for Wall Climbing Systems: Development, Assessment, and Resulting Prototypes Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2–29656