Featured Biographies

Siddhant Sandeep Bapat

Pennsylvania State University

Sid is a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Edward Smith and Dr. Nicholas Vlajic on rotorcraft vibration control and impact modeling. Under their mentorship, he is developing vibration mitigation strategies for next-generation VTOL systems. He earned his B.S. from Lehigh University and his M.S. from Duke University, where his research in aircraft structural dynamics under Dr. Earl Dowell first sparked his interest in vertical flight. At Penn State, Sid continues to build on this foundation through both research and leadership. He actively engages with the broader vertical flight community through VFS Forums and industry collaborations and currently serves as President of the Penn State Vertical Flight Society student chapter.