Dr. Weihua Su
Associate Professor, Associate Department Head and Director of Undergraduate Programs
Contact
- 2055 H.M. Comer
- phone (205) 348-6728
- fax (205) 348-6959
Education
- Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, The University of Michigan, 2008
- M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, 2002
- B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, 2000
Dr. Weihua Su is an associate professor at The University of Alabama and director of the Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics Research Laboratory.
He has extensive experience in finite element modeling, aeroelasticity, structural dynamics, and structure optimization. Su’s research interests include aeroelasticity, flight dynamics, and control of flexible aircraft. Recently, he has focused on nonlinear aeroelasticity and control synthesis of flexible mission-adaptive aircraft, with adaptive and multifunctional structures and sensing technologies. He is also engaged in the design and analysis of novel Urban Air Mobility and Advanced Air Mobility vehicles.
Su’s work was recognized by the ASME/Boeing Structures and Materials Award in 2011. His research has been funded by NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center and NASA Kennedy Space Center, as well as companies from aerospace and automotive industries.
Su is an Associate Fellow of AIAA. He is an elected member of the AIAA Structural Dynamics Technical Committee. He is also a member of the ASME Aerospace Division Executive Committee and serving on the Structures and Materials Technical Committee. Prior to joining the faculty of UA, Su worked as an engineer at Tenneco Inc. and as a research fellow at the University of Michigan.
Affiliated Areas
Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
Selected Publications
- Nunes, J. S. M., Su, W., and He, T., “Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Urban Air Mobility Aircraft with Gust Disturbance,” Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, Vol. 20, No. 7, 2025, Art. 071001. (doi: 10.1115/1.4068426)
- Anwar, S., Yunker, A., Kettimuthu, R., Anastasio, M. A., Liu, Z., Su, W., and He, J., “A Deep Learning-Based Approach to Improve Reconstruction of Ultrasound Computed Tomography with Full Waveform Inversion,” Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2025, Art. 035059. (doi: 10.1088/1361-665X/adc359)
- Nunes, J. S. M., Su, W., and He, T., “Vibration Suppression and Trajectory Tracking with Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Urban Air Mobility Aircraft,” Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, Vol. 147, No. 4, 2025, Art. 041010. (doi: 10.1115/1.4067770)
- Su, W., and Song, W., “Impact of Actuation and Sensor Measurement Delays on Stability of Real-Time Hybrid Aeroelastic Simulation System,” The Aeronautical Journal, Vol. 128, No. 1329, 2024, pp. 2691-2706. (doi: 10.1017/aer.2024.46)
- He, T., and Su, W., “Robust Control of Gust-Induced Vibration of Highly Flexible Aircraft,” Aerospace Science and Technology, Vol. 143, 2023, Art. 108703. (doi: 10.1016/j.ast.2023.108703)
Awards and Honors
- ASME/Boeing Structures and Materials Award, ASME/Boeing, 2011
- NASA Group Achievement Award, NASA, 2018
- AIAA Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, October 2023
- Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA, 2024
Dr. Su's Impact
Su Named to Class of 2024 AIAA Associate Fellows
Dr. Weihua Su, associate professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics and director of the aeroelasticity and structural dynamics research laboratory, has been selected as one of the 2024 associate fellows...