About Me
I am currently a graduate research assistant at Georgia Tech working with Dr. Brian German and am looking for opportunities to develop aircraft that will improve mobility.
Education
SkillsModeling / Design: CHARM, DUST, 3D panel methods, particle wake methods, unsteady aerodynamics modeling, SOLIDWORKS,
Programming: Julia, Python, MATLAB, SIMULINK, Git Manufacturing: Sub-scale aircraft prototyping and flight testing, laser cutting Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese Interests
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ContactEmail: [email protected]
Github: mlau3468 (github.com) LinkedIn: Mark Lau (LinkedIn) Phone: 706-502-9121 ![]()
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Current Projects
Georgia Tech eVTOL Research
I am currently a graduate research assistant at Georgia Tech working with Dr. Brian German. I work on an industry sponsored research project to model, design, and test a novel eVTOL concept. My work includes modeling coupled rotor-rotor aerodynamic interactions, 6DOF vehicle flight dynamics simulation, and controls development. More details coming soon...
In addition, I support other projects in Dr. German's research group with aerodynamics modeling for VTOL aircraft and transition analysis. I also provide guidance to our undergraduate researchers to enable them to support the group's modeling efforts.
In addition, I support other projects in Dr. German's research group with aerodynamics modeling for VTOL aircraft and transition analysis. I also provide guidance to our undergraduate researchers to enable them to support the group's modeling efforts.
Past Projects
SAE Aero Design: Advanced Class
I served as a chief engineer for the 2021 Georgia Tech SAE competition aircraft. I helped lead the team from conceptual design through flight testing. Our goal was to design an aircraft capable of carrying and remotely dropping unguided payload and autonomous gliders into a 50' target.
In 2019 I was the lead developer for the system's data acquisition system, which uses live telemetry to accurately deliver payload to the 50' target on the ground. I used Ardupilot and a Pixhawk Mini flight controller to automate gliders, which had to autonomously navigate to the target zone and land safely.
In 2020, I became a subsystems leader and was in charge of wing manufacturing. I designed the wings and their internal structure in CAD, laser cut them out of balsa, and lead a group of students in the manufacturing process.
In 2019 I was the lead developer for the system's data acquisition system, which uses live telemetry to accurately deliver payload to the 50' target on the ground. I used Ardupilot and a Pixhawk Mini flight controller to automate gliders, which had to autonomously navigate to the target zone and land safely.
In 2020, I became a subsystems leader and was in charge of wing manufacturing. I designed the wings and their internal structure in CAD, laser cut them out of balsa, and lead a group of students in the manufacturing process.
SAE Aero Design 2018-2021: 1st Place
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3DOF Minimum Power VTOL Trim Paper
I worked on a paper that developed a quasi-steady approach to analyzing VTOL aircraft transition by successively trimming the aircraft. One of my main contributions was developing the rotor aerodynamics databases using DUST to model the forces and moments imparted on the rotors in transition. The methodology used OpenMDAO and SNOPT to find trim solutions. I coded a simple custom automatic forward differencing Python library to support computing derivatives to the optimizer.
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NASA Near-Term Passenger UAM Study
I was part of a research team lead by Dr. Brian German for a NASA project to identify near-term routes and use-cases for UAM aircraft across the US. I used US Census, OpenStreetMaps, and the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data to gauge the near-term feasibility of routes. This produced "heatmaps" of regions across the U.S. that were used to guide selection of cities for more in depth analysis.
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Modeling and Flight Testing of an eSTOL Blown Wing Aircraft
I was part of Dr. German's research team at Georgia Tech applying multidisciplinary design optimization to an eSTOL UAM aircraft concept. I helped construct and flight test blown wing aircraft prototype (pictured) and worked on a landing model to evaluate designs against FAA regulations. I am worked on integrating DUST, a novel mid-scale aerodynamics simulation tool developed by Politecnico di Milano, with aircraft MDO.
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Finite Element Analysis in Python
I coded a finite element solver using isoparametric quadrilateral elements in Python for an FEA course at Georgia Tech. For my final project, I analyzed an airfoil rib under aerodynamic loads modeled using a pressure distribution from XFOIL. I learned to use and script gmsh in the process.
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Atlanta UAM Cargo Delivery Study
I worked on an interdisciplinary team under Dr. Brian German that studied the feasibility of using eSTOL aircraft to deliver cargo within the greater Atlanta area. I modeled cargo aircraft fleet operations with MATLAB using geospatial data and compared aircraft-based and car-based logistics. I also created a cost model that applied economic concepts to the evaluation of the system's feasibility.
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Automated Aircraft Wing CAD in Python and SolidWorks
After becoming frustrated with manually designing aircraft wing ribs in SolidWorks, I wrote an automatic aircraft wing CAD tool in Python that turns a small number of design parameters into 3D SolidWorks CAD and 2D drawing files.
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Remote Air-dropped Payload
Targeting System I developed the hardware and software to remotely track and direct a payload delivery aircraft to accurately drop payloads onto a ground target using live GPS and IMU telemetry data. I coded a GUI in Python, implemented a drop prediction algorithm, and improved radio connection stability.
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Automated RC Glider Navigation and Landing
Using open-sourced autopilot software on a commercially available off-the-shelf controller, I programmed an autonomous glider to land at predetermined GPS coordinates. Through repeated testing, I tuned the system's control parameters so that the the glider was able to consistently land close to the target even in the presence of wind.
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Shanghai Micro-Rail Cargo Delivery Design/Study
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I worked on a team of three students to prototype and study the feasibility of a micro-rail cargo delivery system for Shanghai. We built a 30 meter test rail section that tested a linear-motor-assisted electric drive system and modeled traffic and cargo delivery with Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO). We were awarded the 3rd Award in Engineering Mechanics at Intel ISEF 2016.