About

Jordan Smart is a doctoral candidate in Stanford University's department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. His research, working in the Aerospace Design Laboratory, is focused on improving the tools and techniques used for modelling aircraft in the early conceptual stage of the design process. His work is supported by the National Science Foundation through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

He earned his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at Rutgers University in 2015. His work on air vehicle design there culminated in Project Goshawk, an award winning UAV capable of vertical takeoff and landing with exceptional speed, range, and payload capacity. As President of the University's chapter of Tau Beta Pi he led the restructuring of the organization to focus on service and engagement with the broader Rutgers community, and as Vice President of the student chapter of AIAA he helped to charter the University's SAE AeroDesign competition team and lead it's AUVSI SUAS team to Top 10 placement in international competition.

From there he joined Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Fort Worth, TX as a member of their Operations Leadership Development Program working on production of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Focusing on diverse work assignment supplemented by specialized training, the OLDP encourages it participants to pursue further education, and after winning a fellowship to study at Stanford University, Jordan relocated to the Bay Area and began attending school while continuing his professional development at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Sunnyvale, CA working on the UGM-133 Trident II Fleet Ballistic Missile.

In 2017, Jordan left Lockheed Martin to focus on the study of fluid dynamics, multidisciplinary design optimization, and the use of artificial intelligence within design after being offered a graduate fellowship opportunity at Stanford University.

In 2018, he went on to win support from the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program after the completion of his doctoral qualification exams, and was inducted into Sigma Xi as an Associate Member shortly thereafter.

In 2019, he was awarded the Stanford University Engineering Diversity Graduate Education Fellowship, and began to publish his work related to the design of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and began work on his doctoral thesis centered around the use of artificial intelligence in design and optimization problems.

He hosted The Farmhouse Podcast alongside Alex S. Hobbs, interviewing guests regarding their backgrounds an professional interests as well as holding panel discussions on current events in engineering and science.

He is married to Ashley C. Smart, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California - Davis. She studies the impact of climate change on marine ecology from the Bodega Marine Laboratory, where she is also a National Science Foundation Fellow.

His awards and other recognition include:

• 2019

  • Awardee, Stanford University Engineering Diversity Graduate Education Fellowship

• 2018

  • Awardee, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

  • Honorable Mention, Ford Foundation Fellowship

  • Associate Membership, Sigma Xi

• 2016

  • Graduate Engineering Fellowship, Stanford University

• 2015

  • Award Overall Excellence in Design, Rutgers University School of Engineering

  • Award for Outstanding Ingenuity, Rutgers University Industry Advisory Board

• 2014

  • Inductee, Tau Beta Pi

  • Inductee, Pi Tau Sigma

  • Awardee, National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering Scholarship

• 2013

  • Awardee, William G. Rohrer Foundation Scholarship

• 2012

  • Inductee, Phi Theta Kappa

  • Awardee, Riletta Cream Memorial Scholarship