Donald L. Edberg, PhD

Dr. Donald L. Edberg, and Advisor for the Institute for Atmospheric Optics and Remote Sensing (IFAORS) has over 24 years of experience in the aerospace industry and in teaching aircraft, spacecraft, and structural design courses at various academic institutions. He currently teaches astronautics and aerospace vehicle design in his full-time position at Cal Poly Pomona, and works part-time at Boeing’s Phantom Works.

During his career, Dr. Edberg has worked on launch vehicle and on-orbit space environments, aerodynamic testing of launch vehicles at high angles of attack, experimental modal and dynamic analysis, launch vehicle load mitigation, reduction of on-orbit mechanical vibrations, and microgravity isolation systems, as well as the development of an electric-powered, back-packable UAV now in service as the FQM-151 Pointer. He holds 10 U.S. patents in aerospace and related fields, and was the inventor of and chief engineer for the patented McDonnell Douglas STABLE (Suppression of Transient Acceleration by Levitation Evaluation) vibration isolation system. STABLE was successfully demonstrated during the flight of Space Shuttle flight STS-73 carrying USML-2 in October 1995. Dr. Edberg is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and an active UAV pilot. He is currently the Director of Cal Poly Pomona’s Uninhabited Aerospace Vehicle Laboratory.