Ohio State University begins the school year with a new director of the Center for Aviation Studies. According to OSU, D. Blake Stringer entered his new position on August 1 and will be fully integrated into the program as of January 2024.
Stringer’s background is diverse. He holds a commercial certificate and has experience in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. He served 20 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. During his military service, he was chief of the Army Research Laboratory’s vehicle propulsion division, a position he held while stationed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
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His other military leadership assignments include director of U.S. Army Europe’s Air Traffic Control Standardization Office and commander and executive officer of several operational units supporting Army Aviation Operations.
According to the OSU College of Engineering communications staff, Stringer has held academic appointments at the U.S. Military Academy and Kent State University in northeastern Ohio. At Kent State, he was the founding faculty member of aerospace engineering undergraduate and graduate degrees, which were the first engineering programs offered at the university.
“The state of Ohio has a rich tradition of innovation in aviation and has positioned itself to maintain its leadership in addressing current challenges and modernizing the industry,” said Stringer. “The Ohio State University’s Center for Aviation Studies plays a big part in that. I look forward to engaging with our stakeholders, including university leadership, academic and industry partners, and alumni to create the conditions for ensuring that our students, faculty, and staff enjoy an even stronger reputation for academic excellence, scholarship, career placement, and professional fulfillment.”
Stringer’s research interests include electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft propulsion scalability and thermal management, and uncrewed traffic management.
