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Nick Borer

Title: Advanced Concepts Group Lead

Technical Focus Area: Aircraft Design and Mission Analysis

Missions/Projects: Airports as Energy Nodes (CAS), Regional Air Mobility (ISAT), X-57 (FDC & CAS), FUELEAP (CAS)

Study Topics/Expertise: Electrified Aircraft Architectures and Performance, Distributed Electric Propulsion, Aviation Infrastructure, Airworthiness Certification

Nick has been with the Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch (ASAB) at NASA Langley since 2013, and he previously was a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program fellow with ASAB from 2003-2005. 

He is the Principal Investigator of the “Airports as Energy Nodes” activity under the NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solutions project. In addition, he serves as the Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA’s X-57 “Maxwell” distributed electric propulsion flight demonstrator and is NASA’s official representative to the Flight subcommittee of ASTM International’s Committee F44 on General Aviation. 

Previously, he was Principal Investigator of NASA’s Fostering Ultra-Efficient, Low-Emitting Aviation Power (FUELEAP) project, which investigated hybrid-electric fuel cell architectures for aviation. 

Prior to NASA, Nick was a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Draper Laboratory, where he led research into integrated analysis, tradespace exploration, and fault-tolerant design for complex systems. 

Nick is an active pilot with commercial single-engine landplane, multiengine landplane, and single-engine seaplane, and single-engine flight instructor privileges.

Awards

  • NASA Group Achievement Award to the X-57 Team, “For outstanding contributions toward the advancement of certification approaches for electric propulsion through the development and test of the X-57 aircraft,” 2023.
  • AIAA Associate Fellow, “For outstanding contributions to AIAA and to aircraft design and performance analysis, particularly with respect to electrified aircraft architectures,” 2022.
  • NASA Exceptional Service Medal, “For sustained exceptional service in transforming the NASA aeronautics research focus to rapidly evolving emerging revolutionary markets,” 2019.
  • NASA Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch Innovator of the Year award, “ASTM F44 Departure Aversion Standard,” 2018.
  • ASTM International Committee F44 on General Aviation Aircraft, Award of Achievement, “For his achievement of development a revolutionary new method for establishing ‘Means of Compliance’ as part of standard F3180 Specification for Low-Speed Flight Characteristics of Aircraft,” 2018.
  • NASA Langley Research Center, Center Group Award to the SCEPTOR Team, “For outstanding collaboration on the successful transition to the X-57 Flight Test Project,” 2016.

Education/Professional Experience

  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA – June 2000-May 2006
    • Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering
      • Dissertation: Decision Making Strategies for Probabilistic Aerospace Systems Design
    • M.S., Aerospace Engineering
  • Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY – August 1996-May 2000
    • B.S., Aerospace Engineering
  • NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA – July 2013 to present
    • Advanced Concepts Group Lead, Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch
    • Air Vehicle Design and Performance Technical Lead, Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch
    • Air Vehicle Design and Mission Performance Engineer, Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch
  • The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA – April 2006-July 2013
    • Senior Member of the Technical Staff, Space Systems Group
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory Planetary Sciences Summer School, 2008
  • NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program Fellowship, NASA Langley Research Center, 2002-2005
  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA – June 2000-April 2006
    • Graduate Research Assistant, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory
  • Thermopatch Corporation, Syracuse, NY – May to December 1999
    • Intern, Mechanical Design 

Publications

Related Websites

Hobbies/Interests

Flight

  • Hold FAA certifications for Commercial Pilot: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Single Engine Sea, Airplane Multiengine Land; Instrument Airplane; Flight Instructor: Airplane Single Engine; Ground Instructor: Advanced.
  • Member of the Tidewater Flying Club, which owns a Cessna 182S, Cessna 172N, and Diamond DA40.
  • Flown to and camped at EAA Airventure (“Oshkosh”) and Sun-n-Fun on multiple occasions.

Experimental Aircraft

  • Member of the Experimental Aircraft Association since 2003.
  • Building a Bearhawk Model B, a 4-place, 2,500 lb gross airplane from plans (scratchbuild, not kit) since 2019.