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NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division World-class modeling, simulation, and supercomputing in support of the NASA mission

Seokkwan Yoon

Assistant Division Chief of Computational Modeling & Simulation (Acting)

Photo of Seokkwan Yoon, Computational Physics Branch Chief

As an Assistant Division Chief, Seokkwan Yoon focuses on the strategic advancement of the NAS Division’s computational modeling and simulation activities and serves as a subject matter expert in these areas.

During his 30-year NASA career, Yoon has played a key role in rebuilding critical technologies in hypersonic entry/reentry for space exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. He conducted research for numerous aeronautics and space exploration vehicles and propulsion systems, including the space shuttle orbiter, space shuttle main engine, hypersonic aircraft and supersonic combustion ramjet engines, planetary entry vehicles, and rotorcraft. As project manager in the areas of hypersonic aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics, and plasma dynamics, he led the development of advanced computational and experimental methods to capture the interactions of multi-physics effects.

He also served as NASA lead for the Joint DoD/NASA National Hypersonic Foundational Research Panel and the Joint Air Force/NASA Hypersonic Flight Research Program, and Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate representative in the NASA Human Exploration of Mars Architecture Study Group. As Chief of the NAS Computational Physics Branch, he led a team of researchers in a wide range of areas, including asteroid threat assessment, Mars sample return, heliophysics, quantum chemistry, ablation modeling for spacecraft heatshields, and high-fidelity simulations of rotorcraft for Earth, Mars, and Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

Yoon developed one of the most popular numerical methods for hypersonic non-equilibrium flows and authored one of the most cited papers in computational fluid dynamics. He performed pioneering work in high-fidelity modeling of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles for urban air mobility. His recent work on Dragonfly Titan Lander and Mars Helicopter paved the way for the future of flights in extraterrestrial worlds. He received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University.