Brian Argrow

About

Brian Argrow is a Distinguished Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he also holds the Glenn Murphy Endowed Chair and serves as the Director of IRISS. His research focuses on unmanned aerospace vehicles (UAVs), high-speed and hypersonic aerodynamics, dense gas dynamics, and rarefied gas dynamics. He has been a faculty member at the University of Colorado since 1999, progressing from Assistant Professor to his current distinguished role, and has held leadership positions including Chair of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and Director of the Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles. Argrow earned his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1989, along with a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor’s with distinction in Aerospace Engineering from the same institution. His professional experience includes teaching and research roles at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Colorado, where he has contributed significantly to aerospace engineering education and research. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2022) and a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA, 2016). His awards include the UCB Gold Best Should Teach Award, the Marinus Smith Award, and the President's Teaching Scholar, among others.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Meteorology
• Environmental science
• Political Science
• Geography
• Aeronautics
• Computer Security
• World Wide Web
• Operating system

Selected publications

• Field observation of tornadic supercells by multiple autonomous fixed‐wing unmanned aircraft

  Journal of Field Robotics · 2020 · 49 citations

  Abstract This paper presents the results of the design and field deployment of multiple autonomous fixed‐wing unmanned aircraft into supercell thunderstorms. As part of a field campaign in Spring 2019, up to three fixed‐wing unmanned aircraft were deployed simultaneously into different regions of supercell thunderstorms, To learn more about the atmospheric conditions that lead to the formation of tornadoes. Successful field deployment is attributed to (a) a nomadic concept of operations that all…

  DOI

• Weather Hazard Risk Quantification for sUAS Safety Risk Management

  Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology · 2020 · 44 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Abstract As the number of applications for small unmanned (i.e., remotely operated) aircraft systems (sUAS) continues to grow, comprehensive safety risk assessment studies are required to ensure their safe integration into the National Airspace System. One source of hazards for sUAS that has not been extensively addressed is adverse weather. A framework is presented for analyzing weather forecast data to provide sUAS operators with risk assessment information that they can use for making risk-aw…

  DOI

• Data generated during the 2018 LAPSE-RATE campaign: an introduction and overview

  Earth system science data · 2020 · 38 citations

  Abstract. Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) offer innovative capabilities for providing new perspectives on the atmosphere, and therefore atmospheric scientists are rapidly expanding their use, particularly for studying the planetary boundary layer. In support of this expansion, from 14 to 20 July 2018 the International Society for Atmospheric Research using Remotely piloted Aircraft (ISARRA) hosted a community flight week, dubbed the Lower Atmospheric Profiling Studies at Elevation – a Remotely-…

  DOI

• Evaluation and Intercomparison of Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Used for Atmospheric Research

  Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology · 2023-11-21 · 18 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) are regularly being used to conduct atmospheric research and are starting to be used as a data source for informing weather models through data assimilation. However, only a limited number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of these systems and assess their ability to replicate measurements from more traditional sensors such as radiosondes and towers. In the current work, we use data collected in central Oklahoma over a 2-we…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Data collected using small uncrewed aircraft systems during the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER)

  Earth system science data · 2024-05-30 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract. The main goal of the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) project was to further understand the role that regional circulations and aerosol loading play in the convective cloud life cycle across the greater Houston, Texas, area. To accomplish this goal, the United States Department of Energy and research partners collaborated to deploy atmospheric observing systems across the region. Cloud and precipitation radars, radiosondes, and air quality sensors captured a…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Targeted Observation by Radars and UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) of Supercells (TORUS)

  NSF · $644k · 2018–2023

• Analysis to evaluate and improve model performance in the Central Arctic: Unique perspectives from autonomous platforms during MOSAiC

  NSF · $1.7M · 2018–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Gijs de Boer

  University of Colorado Boulder

  115 shared

• Eric W. Frew

  63 shared

• Jack Elston

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  52 shared

• Dale Lawrence

  University of Colorado Boulder

  51 shared

• Steven Borenstein

  University of Colorado Boulder

  49 shared

• Jonathan Hamilton

  University of Colorado Boulder

  43 shared

• Radiance Calmer

  Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

  42 shared

• Cory Dixon

  University of Colorado Boulder

  38 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering

  University of Oklahoma

  1989

• M.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of Oklahoma

  1986

• B.S., Aerospace Engineering

  University of Oklahoma

  1983

Awards & honors

• Member, National Academy of Engineering (2022)
• Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (…
• UCB Gold Best Should Teach Award (2007)
• Marinus Smith Award (2003)
• President's Teaching Scholar (2000)

Similar researchers at University of Colorado Boulder

• James Brasseurh-49
• John Evansh-42
• Dennis Akosh-33