Joseph Chiapperi
Research Assistant
BACKGROUND
I am from Rochester, New York. From a young age, I was always fascinated by aviation and engineering. This fascination sent me to Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering (Honors). While attending Clarkson, I worked multiple summer internships with GE Aviation in various locations throughout the Northeast. In addition to this industry work, I gained research experience through my undergraduate honors thesis in airfoil optimization. I moved to Boston in 2019 and joined MIT’s Gas Turbine Laboratory. I completed my master’s degree in 2021 with a thesis focused on bi-directional turbomachinery for pumped-thermal energy storage. I have since continued to work at the Gas Turbine Lab towards my PhD. In addition to research, I have worked as a Teaching Assistant in multiple courses in the Course 16. I revived the Jet Engine Lab in 16.004 and developed the new hands-on manufacturing course, 16.811.
RESEARCH
My current work focuses on the development of kilowatt-scale gas turbines. Specifically, I am working on defining the robust operation of a kilowatt-scale gas turbine. This scale of gas turbine has applications as a power source for autonomous robots or UAVs and would increase the range compared to what is achievable with batteries.
EXPERTISE
Gas turbine technology