Dan Fries

I moved from Germany to the US in 2015 and received my PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2020. My dissertation investigated the influence of gas properties on jet mixing in a supersonic crossflow and the application of laser ignition and jet staging to enhance chemical reactions. I conducted my experimental studies at the Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab, where my advisors were Menon Suresh and Devesh Ranjan. Prior to moving to the US, I studied at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and wrote my Master’s thesis at the European Space Agency. My primary research interests are high-speed, high-temperature flows, optical diagnostics, and statistical methods. I am also interested in the application of related concepts to space exploration and the development of chemical and electrical propulsion concepts. Within the PSAAP project, I am hired as a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Aeromechanics Research under Philip Varghese and Noel Clemens. My primary responsibility is the experimental exploration and characterization of plasma torch and glow discharge experiments. In my spare time, I like to apply myself in the art of climbing large rocks.