Lieutenant Colonel Michael Wilkinson
Assistant Professor and Deputy for Operations
Bio
Lt Col Michael P. Wilkinson is a Developmental Engineer and Assistant Professor of Aeronautics in the Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. He currently instructs courses in the Aircraft Structures discipline.
Lt Col Wilkinson graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He received his commission in the United States Air Force in 2007 as a Developmental Engineering Officer. Lt Col Wilkinson first served as an Advanced Laser Mechanical Engineer for the High-Power Gas Lasers Branch, Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Kirtland AFB, NM where he performed research on chemical oxygen-iodine lasers and diode pumped alkali lasers. In 2010, he transferred to the AFRL Intelligence Branch, Kirtland AFB where he served as Deputy Chief of Intelligence Analysis and provided intelligence support to the Space Vehicles Directorate, AFRL. Subsequently, he served as an Airborne Radar Analyst at the National Air & Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH where he analyzed foreign airborne early warning radars and managed the migration of the electronic warfare integrated reprogramming database for use with next generation fighters. Lt Col Wilkinson next attended the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), where he received a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 2014. Following graduation from AFIT, he was assigned as the Deputy Chief, Structures Technology Branch, Aerospace Systems Directorate, AFRL where he was responsible for coordinating in-house composites structures testing for the Composite Airframe Life Extension program and managed aircraft structural sustainment research and development efforts. Lt Col Wilkinson was then selected as an instructor in the Department of Aeronautics, United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado, where he also served as Deputy Director of the Aeronautics Laboratory. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating the resource plan and scheduling lab support for aeronautics courses and research projects. After USAFA, he was competitively selected to pursue a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering at AFIT where he focused his research on structural materials and analysis with a dissertation concentrated on testing novel materials for hypersonic applications. Following his PhD, Lt Col Wilkinson was assigned as Ground Sensors Program Element Monitor, Warfighter Operational Integration, Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he was responsible for coordinating requests for information, analysis, and agreements between the Military Services/Combatant Commands and the MDA Ground Sensors program office.
Education
PhD in Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology (2021)
M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology (2014)
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Baylor University (2007)
PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION
Air Command and Staff College by correspondence, Air University (2020)
Squadron Officer School in residence, Air University (2014)
Air & Space Basic Course in residence, Air University (2008)
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor and Deputy for Operations, Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado (2023-Present)
Ground Sensors Program Element Monitor, Warfighter Operational Integration Division, Missile Defense Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA (2021-2023)
Instructor and Deputy Aeronautics Laboratory Director, Department of Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado (2015-2017)
Deputy Branch Chief and Structural Composites Engineer, Structures Technology Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (2014-2015)
Airborne Radar Analyst, Airborne Radar Flight, National Air & Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (2011-2012)
Deputy Chief, Intelligence Analysis, Intelligence Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM (2009-2011)
Advanced Laser Mechanical Engineer, High-Power Gas Lasers Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM (2007-2019)
Research and Scholarly Interests
Aircraft Structures, Ultra-high Temperature Ceramics, Composites
Publications
Wilkinson, M. P., Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., and Matson, L. E., “Creep Performance & Microstructural Analysis of Ultra-High Temperature Material at 1400 – 1500°C,” presented at the 2021 National Space & Missiles Materials Symposium, virtual conference, 21-25 June 2021.
Wilkinson, M. P., “Creep Performance of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics for Aerospace Systems at 1400 – 1600°C,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 2021.
Wilkinson, M.P., and Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., “Creep Performance and Microstructural Mechanisms of Hafnium Diboride + 20 vol% Silicon Carbide at 1600 °C,” presented at the 45th International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites, ICACC2021-3473018, virtual conference, 8-12 Feb 2021.
Wilkinson, M. P., and Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., “Fatigue of a 3D Orthogonal Non-crimp Woven Polymer Matrix Composite at Elevated Temperature,” Applied Composite Materials. Vol. 24, No. 6, Dec 2017, pp. 1405-1424, doi: 10.1007/s10443-017-9597-5.
Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., and Wilkinson, M. P., “Fatigue of 2D and 3D Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites and of a Unitized Polymer/Ceramic Matrix Composite at Elevated Temperature,” Chapter in The Structural Integrity of Carbon Fiber Composites: Fifty Years of Progress and Achievement of the Science, Development, and Applications, Ed. 1, Beaumont, P. W. R., Soutis, C., Hodzic, A., Springer International Publishing AG, Cham, Switzerland, 2017, pp. 873-907, doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-46120-5.
Wilkinson, M. P., and Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., “Mechanical Properties and Fatigue Behavior of 2D Woven PMC and Unitized Composite Airframe Structures at Elevated Temperature,” ASME 2016 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition Proceedings, IMECE2016-65763, Phoenix, AZ, 11-17 Nov 2016.
Wilkinson, M. P., and Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., “Fatigue of a 2D unitized polymer/ceramic matrix composite at elevated temperature,” Polymer Testing. Vol. 54, Sep 2016, pp. 203-213, doi: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2016.07.010.
Bartley-Cho, J. D., Wang, D. P., Sheppard, W. R., Palm, T. E., Holzwarth, R. C., and Wilkinson, M., “A Method for Predicting Fastener Hole Elongation in Composite Joints due to Cyclic Loading,” 57th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference Proceedings, AIAA 2016-1506, San Diego, CA, 4-8 Jan 2016.
Clay, S., Ranatunga, V., Wilkinson, M., and Knoth, P., “Challenges in Experimental Validation of Composite Damage Progression Models,” ASC 30th Technical Conference Proceedings, East Lansing, MI, 28-30 Sep 2015.
Wilkinson, M. P., and Ruggles-Wrenn, M. B., “Mechanical Properties and Fatigue Behavior of 2D and 3D Woven PMC Airframe Structures at Elevated Temperature,” 56th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference Proceedings, AIAA 2015-1429, Kissimmee, FL, 5-9 Jan 2015.
Wilkinson, M. P., “Mechanical Properties and Fatigue Behavior of Unitized Composite Airframe Structures at Elevated Temperature,” Master’s thesis, Dept. of Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 2014.
Sulham, C. V., Perram, G. P., Wilkinson, M. P., and Hostutler, D. A., “A pulsed, optically pumped rubidium laser at high pump intensity,” Optics Communications. Vol. 283, No. 21, 2010, pp. 4328 – 4332, doi: 10.1016/j.optcom.2010.06.038.
Noren, C. A., Ortiz, T., Wilkinson, M., Klennert, W., Madden, T. J., Chan, R. W., Behrens, H. W., and Walter, R., “Experimental and Computational Investigation of a Gas Laser Pressure Recovery System Diffuser,” AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1278, No. 1, 2010, pp. 230-241.
Madden, T. J., Noren, C. A., Ortiz, T., Wilkinson, M., Klennert, W., Chan, R. W., Behrens, H. W., Decker, R., and Walter, R., “Experimental and Computational Investigation of a Converging-Diverging Nozzle-Diffuser with Cross Flow Injection,” 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, AIAA-2010-1156, Orlando, FL, 4-7 Jan 2010.
Noren, C. A., Ortiz, T., Wilkinson, M., Klennert, W., Madden, T. J., Chan, R. W., Behrens, H. W., and Walter, R., “An Investigation of a Gas Laser Pressure Recovery System Diffuser,” 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, AIAA-2009-818, Orlando, FL, 5-8 Jan 2009.