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Brij N Agrawal

Distinguished Professor
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Phone: (831) 656-3338

Overview

Dr. Brij N. Agrawal is currently a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Director of the Spacecraft Research and Design Center, and Director of the Adaptive Optics Center of Excellence for National Security at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). He has developed teaching and research programs in spacecraft design, acquisition, tracking and pointing, jitter control, and adaptive optics control for imaging spacecraft, laser communications, high energy laser beam control, and artificial intelligence and deep learning. He founded the Spacecraft Research Design Center (SRDC) in 1997, which consists of five state-of-art laboratories. He founded the Adaptive Optics Center of Excellence for National Security (AOCoE) in 2011 at NPS with the sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with $3M/year funding for three years . The Center has three- meter segmented mirror telescopes with actuators for shape control and phasing control and wave front sensors. It also has High Energy Laser Beam Control Research Testbed (HBCRT) for research on correcting of laser beam aberration due to deep turbulence. In 2018, he started research in new area, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and developed and taught a new course in Artificial Intelligence, AE/ME 4824.
Prior to Joining NPS in 1989, Prof. Agrawal worked for twenty years for Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) and International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) where he conducted research in spacecraft attitude control, spacecraft structures, and spacecraft design. He participated in the development of several satellites: INTELSAT IV, IV-A, V, and VI. Professor Agrawal wrote the first textbook on spacecraft design: “Design of Geosynchronous Spacecraft.” He also developed several techniques in spacecraft attitude control to avoid instability due to interaction with solar flexibility and liquid slosh.
Prof. Agrawal has been a thesis advisor for ten Ph.D. and 76 MS students and 15 postdoctoral fellows. He has published over 180 papers, 2 books and 5 patents. His second book Standard Handbook for Aerospace Engineers was published in 2018. He is working on third book to be published by Wiley: Optical Beam Control: Imaging Satellites and Laser Systems. He has received several awards: INTELSAT award for Inventiveness and Technological Contribution-1990; NPS top performance Award-1990; NPS Outstanding Teaching Award-1993, 1994, and 2000. NPS Outstanding Research Award-1992 and 1997; AIAA The Lockheed Graduate Team Space Design Competition Award- 1993 and 1994; Distinguished Professor Award 2002; Richard W. Hamming Award for Interdisciplinary Achievements-2007; Fellow AIAA, 2009; Navy Superior Service Award, 2012; Distinguished Alumnus Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Award 2015; Member, International Academy of Astronautics, 2017; The Carl E. and Jessie Mencken Faculty Award for Excellence in Scientific Research, 2018; and Distinguished Alumnus Indian Institute Technology Roorkee Award-2018. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University, MS in Mechanical Engineering from McMaster University, ME (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Roorkee, and B.Sc. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from IIT (BHU).
NPS Experience
  • 1989 - current: Distinguished Professor
Other Experience
  • 1987 - 1989 Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland
  • 1986 - 1987 Adjunct Professor, George Washington University
  • 1979 - 1989 International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  • 1975 - 1977 Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT)
  • 1969 - 1979 Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) Spacecraft R&D Laboratory
Research Interests
Application of Artificial Intelligence for military systems
Acquisition, tracking and pointing of flexible spacecraft with optical payloads
High Energy Laser beam control
Active vibration control, isolation and suppression, and jitter control
Adaptive optics and correction of laser beam aberration due to air turbulence
Advanced control and wavefront sensor techniques
Teaching Interests
Application of Artificial Intelligence for Military Systems, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing of Military Spacecraft, Spacecraft Design, Smart Structures, Spacecraft Attitude Control, Spacecraft Design and Testing, Beam Control of High Energy Lasers, Correction of Laser Beam Aberration due to Air Turbulence, Adaptive Optics.

Awards

  • 2012 - Navy Superior Service Award
  • 2009 - Fellow, AIAA
  • 2007 - Richard W. Hamming Award for Interdisciplinary Achievements, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 2002 - Distinguished Professor Award, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 2000 - NPS Outstanding Teaching Award, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 1997 - NPS Outstanding Research Award, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 1994 - NPS Outstanding Teaching Award, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 1994 - The Lockheed Graduate Team Space design Competition Award, AIAA
  • 1993 - NPS Outstanding Teaching Award, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 1993 - The Lockheed Graduate Team Space design Competition Award, AIAA
  • 1992 - NPS Outstanding Research Award, Naval Postgraduate School
  • 1990 - INTELSAT award for Inventiveness and Technological Contribution
  • 1990 - NPS top performance Award, Naval Postgraduate School

Boards, Memberships, & Certifications

Professional Memberships
  • Associate Editor, AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics
  • Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • Member, IAF Technical Committee
Licensures and Certifications
  • 1978 Registered Professional Engineer, State of Maryland

Scholarly Work

Patents/Copyrights
  • Patents
  • Agrawal, B. N. "Multi-camera Imaging System for Nanosatellites" US Patent No. 10475171
  • Agrawal, B. N. "Image Stabilization and Pixel Shifting for a Nanosatellite Imaging System" , US Patent No. 10,338,376 B2,
  • Kim, J., Agrawal, B. N., Sands, T. A. "Method and apparatus for singularity avoidance for control moment gyroscope (CMG) systems without using null motion" US 9,567,112 B1
  • Agrawal, B. N., Sugathevan "Active Feed forward Disturbance Control System" 8,019,090 B1
  • Agrawal, B. N., Madon, P. "Attitude Pointing Error Correction System and Methods for Geosynchronous Satellites" 4,911,385