Zoltán S. Spakovszky

T. Wilson (1953) Professor in Aeronautics
Director, Gas Turbine Laboratory

Contact Info

Office Phone

617.253.2196

Email

zolti@mit.edu

Office

31-317

Administrative Contact

Pam Fradkin
fradkin@mit.edu
617.258.9729

Financial Contact

Jennifer Leith
jennie@mit.edu
617.253.4929
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Affiliated Labs

Since I was a child, the smell of unburned hydrocarbons from jet aircraft on the tarmac sent a chill down my spine with the feeling that something exciting and powerful was going to happen.

Specialization and Research Interests

Propulsion and energy conversion, internal flows in fluid machinery, compressor aerodynamics and stability, micro-fluidics and rotordynamics, aero-acoustics, aircraft design for environment, electrified aviation

Teaching Interests

Thermodynamics and energy conversion; propulsion and fluid mechanics, aero-acoustics

Read my advising philosophy

Academic Degrees

Dipl. Ing., 1997, ETH Zürich; M.S., 1999, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ph.D., 2000, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Society Memberships

Fellow, ASME; Associate Fellow, AIAA

Positions Held at MIT

Visiting Engineer, 1996-1997; Assistant Professor, 2001-2005; Associate Professor, 2005-2012; Professor, 2012 – present; Acting Director, Gas Turbine Laboratory, 2007; Director, Gas Turbine Laboratory, 2008 – present; Vehicle Sector Head, 2015 – 2018; Chair Graduate Committee, 2020 – 2021

Positions Held outside MIT

Propulsion Engineering, Swissair Technics, Zürich Airport, Switzerland, 1995; Research Staff, Turbomachinery Laboratory, ETH Zürich, Switzerland, 1996; Lead Engineer, Engine Preliminary Design and Performance, GE Aircraft Engines, 2000-2001; Technology Special Advisor, MHI R&D Center, 2009-2010; Senior Advisor for Strategy, Technology and Innovation, MHI Head Office, 2018-2019

Awards & Honors

  • International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) Scholar Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2021
  • IGTI Aircraft Engine Committee Best Paper Award, ASME, 2018, 2016, and 2014
  • IGTI Supercritical CO2 Power Cycle Committee Best Paper Award, ASME, 2017
  • IGTI Turbomachinery Com. Best Paper Award, ASME, 2017, 2012, 2011, 2007, 2006, 2002, and 2000
  • ASME John P. Davis Gas Turbine Applications Award, 2016

Research

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