Education

Ph.D., Engineering Science & Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg VA, October 1998.
B.S., Engineering Mechanics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign IL, U.S.A., May 1989.

Background

Dr. Tatting joined the research team at the McNAIR Center in 2016 to perform research and mentor graduate students, focusing on composite design and manufacture. His main topics included variable stiffness designs for cylinders, novel 3D optimization techniques for composites, and physics-based modeling of automated fiber placement (AFP), funded by The Boeing Company. Further work under NASA's ACC program investigated effects of defects formed during the AFP process on part reliability.

Previously, Dr. Tatting consulted for the aeronautics/aerospace industry concerning composite design of structures, specifically using AFP, for clients including Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, NASA-Langley Research Center, and Ingersoll Machine Tools. Projects ranged from design and analysis of composite parts for airplanes to software development for composite design.

Patents

Robert Koon, Stephen P. Engelstad, Brian F. Tatting, Zafer Gürdal, “Highly tailored stiffening for advanced composites”, US Patent WO 2009058500 A1, filed September 30, 2008 and issued May 7, 2009