Christopher Vermillion

Christopher Vermillion is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering. His research applies optimal control and design optimization tools to cutting-edge problems in renewable energy and energy efficiency, with particular interest in tethered systems for harnessing wind and marine hydrokinetic energy, persistent mission planning algorithms for renewably powered robotic networks, and the use of connected and autonomous vehicles to realize substantial fuel-economy improvements. His group has developed a first-of-its-kind 1/100-scale water-channel platform for rapid characterization of airborne wind energy system flight dynamics, and works on hierarchical control strategies for crosswind kites and underwater kites operating in dynamic ocean and atmospheric environments.