Bio
Colonel James Gresham is the Professor and Head of the Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He commands the department with final responsibility for curriculum, personnel, research, budget, long-range planning, faculty development, and cadet instruction. The department supports development of the finest Air and Space Force officers in the world who live our core values and have an exemplary foundation in engineering principles. He supervises 72 Air Force officers, NCOs, civilians, and support contractors offering 25 courses to educate 1,500 cadets annually. He also oversees the Academy’s Aeronautics Research Center and the High Performance Computing Research Center. Department research supports cadet development, as well as, the Air Force Research Lab, DARPA, NASA, system program offices, and industry partners.
Col Gresham earned his commission as a 2007 graduate of the Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. He completed a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology, graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School, and earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech. He has broad experience leading and executing flight test of the F-16, advanced weapons, and the Nation’s newest autonomous aircraft. He previously taught courses and conducted research with aeronautical engineering majors at the Academy. He deployed to Southwest Asia in support of the first days of Operation Inherent Resolve. Prior to his current assignment, Col Gresham was the Commander of the 716th Test Squadron within the Arnold Engineering Development Complex. He led a 550-member team responsible for maintaining, modernizing, and operating nine world-unique, large-scale wind tunnels to provide high-fidelity aerodynamic data and analysis in support of national security programs. He was responsible for $7B in test infrastructure, a $200M annual portfolio, and directed operations to drive development of fighters, bombers, missiles, hypersonic weapons, and next generation platforms.
Col Gresham is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers, and a member of Sigma Gamma Tau, the aerospace engineering honor society. He holds FAA private pilot and remote pilot certificates, which he leverages to improve cadet classroom instruction and research at the Academy.
Education
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech (2022)
M.S. in Flight Test Engineering, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (2016)
M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology (2012)
B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy (2007)
PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION
Air War College by correspondence, Air University (2024)
Air Command & Staff College by correspondence, Air University (2019)
Squadron Officer School (Distinguished Graduate), Air University (2015)
Air and Space Basic Course, Air University (2008)
Professional Experience
Permenant Professor and Head, Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (November 2024-Present)
Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (July 2024-October 2024)
Commander, 716th Test Squadron, Arnold Engineering Development Complex, Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. (June 2022-June 2024)
Ph.D. Candidate, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. (August 2019-May 2022)
Assistant Director of Operations, Flight Commander, and Flight Test Engineer, 452d Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (July 2016-July 2019)
Student, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif. (July 2015-June 2016)
Assistant Professor and Assistant Lab Director, Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (July 2014-June 2015)
Instructor, Executive Officer, and Personnel Officer, Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (April 2012-June 2014)
Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, Ohio (August 2010-March 2012)
F-16 Flight Test Engineer, 416th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif. (August 2007-July 2010)
Honors & Awards
AIAA Associate Fellow (2024)
Best Paper Co-author: AIAA SciTech Forum (2017, 2022)
New Horizons Graduate Scholar, Dominion Energy Research Fellow, and Martin-Marietta Aircraft Fellow, Virginia Tech (2019-2022)
Special Programs Test Team of the Year, Air Force Materiel Command (2017, 2018)
Military Special Programs Engineer of the Year, Air Force Materiel Command (2018)
Company Grade Officer of the Year, USAFA Engineering Division (2014)
Outstanding Academy Educator, USAFA Department of Aeronautics (2014)
Outstanding First Year Instructor, USAFA Department of Aeronautics (2013)
Research and Scholarly Interests
Flight vehicle dynamics & control, aerodynamic & aeropropulsive modeling, experimental flight test, and wind tunnel test.
Collaborative research interests include use of uncrewed aerial systems, trusted autonomy, electric vertical take-off and landing configurations, hypersonic platforms, aeroelastic effects, propulsion integration, and model-based engineering.
Publications
REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES
Gresham, J., Simmons, B., Hopwood, J., and Woolsey, C., “Spin Aerodynamic Modeling for a Fixed-Wing Aircraft Using Flight Data,” AIAA Journal of Aircraft (2023)
Simmons, B., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Flight-Test System Identification Techniques and Applications for Small, Low-Cost, Fixed-Wing Aircraft,” AIAA Journal of Aircraft (2023)
Fahmi, J-M., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Experimental Validation of Port-Hamiltonian Based Control for Fixed Wing Unmanned Aircraft,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (2023)
Gresham, J., Simmons, B., Fahmi, J., Hopwood, J. and Woolsey, C., “Remote Uncorrelated Pilot Input Excitation Assessment for Unmanned Aircraft Aerodynamic Modeling,” AIAA Journal of Aircraft (2023)
Simmons, B., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Nonlinear Dynamic Modeling for Aircraft with Unknown Mass Properties Using Flight Data,” AIAA Journal of Aircraft (2023)
Hopwood, J., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Robust Stall Spin Flight Path Control with Flight Test Validation,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (2023)
Simmons, B., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Aero-Propulsive Modeling for Propeller Aircraft Using Flight Data,” AIAA Journal of Aircraft (2022)
Berger, T., Tischler, M., Hagerott, S., Cotting, M. C., Gresham, J., George, J., Krogh, K., d’Argenio, A., and Howland, J., “Business Jet Fly-by-Wire Control Laws Handling Qualities Flight Test Assessment,” AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 2021.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Simmons, B., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Nonlinear Dynamic Model Identification for Aircraft with Unknown Mass Properties Using Flight Data,” AIAA SciTech 2023 Forum (January 2023)
Gresham, J., Simmons, B., Hopwood, J., and Woolsey, C., “Spin Aerodynamic Modeling for a Fixed-Wing Aircraft Using Flight Data,” AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum (January 2022)
Gresham, J., Fahmi, J., Simmons, B., Hopwood, J., Foster, J., and Woolsey, C., “Flight Test Approach for Modeling & Control Law Validation for Unmanned Aircraft,” AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum (January 2022)
Simmons, B., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Aero-Propulsive Modeling for Propeller Aircraft Using Flight Data,” AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum (January 2022)
Hopwood, J., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Stall Spin Flight Path Control Using Parallel Yaw-Periodic Linear Quadratic and Robust H∞ Controllers,” AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum (January 2022)
Halefom, M., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C., “Wind Estimation from an Unsteady Aerodynamic Fixed-wing Motion Model,” AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum, (January 2022)
Gresham, J., Simmons, B., Fahmi, J., and Woolsey, C., “Remote Uncorrelated Pilot Inputs for Nonlinear Aerodynamic Model Identification from Flight Data,” AIAA AVIATION 2021 Forum (August 2021)
Sakib, N., Gresham, J., and Woolsey, C. “Usability Studies of a Predictive Heterogeneous Vision System in Mitigating the Effects of Visual Display Delay,” AIAA SciTech 2021 Forum (January 2021)
Berger, T., Tischler, M., Hagerott, S., Cotting, M. C., Gray, W., Gresham, J., George, J., Krogh, K., D'Argenio, A., and Howland, J. “Development and Validation of a Flight-Identified Full-Envelope Business Jet Simulation Model Using a Stitching Architecture,” AIAA SciTech 2017 Forum (January 2017)
Berger, T., Tischler, M., Hagerott, S., Cotting, M. C., Gresham, J., George, J., Krogh, K., D'Argenio, A., and Howland, J. “Handling Qualities Flight Test Assessment of a Business Jet Nz-U P-β Fly-By-Wire Control System,” AIAA SciTech 2017 Forum, January 2017.
SCHOLARLY PRESENTIONS
Hopwood, J. and Gresham, J., “Flight Dynamic Modeling and Control for Fixed-Wing UAVs in Stall Spins,” Federal Aviation Administration’s New and Emerging Aviation Technologies (NEAT) Seminar, Virtual (August 2024)
Gresham, J. and Morris, C., “Large-Scale Wind Tunnel Testing in Small Town Tennessee: Arnold Engineering Development Complex and the 716th Test Squadron,” Graduate Student Seminar, Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. (October 2023)
Gresham, J., “F-16 High Angle of Attack Test and Evaluation,” AIAA/SFTE Student Chapter Lecture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. (January 2020)
Hall, J., Gresham, J., and Byerley, A., “Team-Based Learning in USAFA Aeronautics Courses,” Poster Presentation, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Forum, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (April 2015)
OTHER SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS
Gresham, J., “Aerodynamic Modeling in Nonlinear Regions, including Stall Spins, for Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft from Experimental Flight Data,” Doctoral Dissertation, Virginia Tech. (March 2022)
Gresham, J., George, J., Krogh, K., D’Argenio, A., and Howland, J., “Limited Evaluation of Cessna Aircraft Company Control Law (Project Tacit CLEAR),” USAF TPS-TIM-15B-02 (June 2016)
Gresham, J., “Optical Closed-Loop Control Tracking with Commercial Telescopes (Limited Distribution),” Master’s Thesis, Air Force Institute of Technology (March 2012)