Research Associates
Erin DeCarlo
Dr. DeCarlo joined Southwest Research Institute in 2017 and is currently a research engineer focused on computational materials integrity section in the mechanical engineering division, alongside with Dr. Barron Bichon. Prior to joining SwRI. From 2013 – 2017 Dr. DeCarlo was a Fellow at the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) and she had also been an intern at the Air Force Research Laboratory during the summers of 2012 – 2015.
Erin DeCarlo’s research focus is on uncertainty quantification, calibration, and validation techniques to quantify and improve confidence in multi-physics predictions. Specifically, her research addresses the fundamental model calibration challenges of 1) the computational expense of multidisciplinary simulations, 2) error accumulation across multiple models and over time, and 3) uncertainty due to the availability of limited data. Her technical interests also include sensitivity analysis, probabilistic risk assessments, optimized data collection, and decision-making under uncertainty.
Dr. DeCarlo received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Vanderbilt University in Civil Engineering in 2017 and 2014, respectively, and a B.S. degree from Tennessee Technological University in 2011.
Victor Cheng
Dr. Cheng joined Optimal Synthesis Inc. in 1997, and is currently President and Chief Technology Officer of the company. Prior to joining OSI, Dr. Cheng was a Senior Research Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, where he also served as Program Manager for program elements under the Terminal Area Productivity Program and the High Speed Research Program. He had also been Senior Research Scientist at Integrated Systems, Inc., and Member of Technical Staff at the TRW Technology Research Center.
He has served on the AIAA Technical Committee on Guidance, Navigation, and Control, the AIAA Program Committee on Aerospace Transportation Management, and the American Helicopter Society Technical Committee on Avionics and Systems. He has also served as Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology and the Journal of the American Helicopter Society. He is the recipient of several NASA Group Achievement Awards, and was named AIAA Engineer of the Year in Information Systems by the San Francisco Section in 1993. He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA, and a member of Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society), Eta Kappa Nu (National Electrical Engineering Honor Society), and Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Society).
Dr. Cheng received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from University of California at Berkeley in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences in 1980 and 1978, respectively, and a B.S. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Computer and Systems Engineering in 1976. He was the recipient of the 1976 Palmer C. Ricketts Prize in Electrical Engineering from RPI, the 1976 IEEE Charles LeGeyt Fortescue Fellowship, and the Earle C. Anthony Fellowship in 1977 from University of California.