Biography
Phil Barnes, publishing his personal research as “J. Philip Barnes,” has a Master of Engineering degree from Cal Poly Pomona and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona. He is a 35-year veteran of aircraft subsystems and vehicle performance analysis at Northrop Grumman. As a Technical Fellow of “Pelican Aero Group,” Phil has published numerous SAE, AIAA, AAS, and ASME technical papers, including what has been called a “landmark study” explaining how the wandering albatross uses its dynamic soaring technique to remain aloft indefinitely on shoulder-locked wings as it circumnavigates Antarctica several times per year. Phil has often been invited to make travel-paid presentations at various universities, including the University of Dayton, USC, UIUC, and Cal Poly Pomona, where he was recently named “Outstanding Aero Engineering Alum,” presenting “Future Flight – Learning From the Birds” to an audience of 200 graduates, family and faculty. Phil is pioneering the science of regenerative electric flight, and he will present “Principles of High-efficiency Electric Flight” as an AIAA paper this summer, describing a new and fundamental understanding of the permanent-magnet electrical machine and its high-efficiency integration with the battery, power conditioning, and propeller or “windprop.” Phil has authored his own all-free website, www.HowFliesTheAlbatross.com , the charter of which is to apply “green aero engineering” to help prevent the extinction of the wandering albatross.