Rate My Professor David Petty

Petty's research specializations include hypersonics, turbulence modelling and simulation, nonequilibrium real-gas physics, thermochemical nonequilibrium modelling and simulation of supersonic nozzle flows, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo implementations on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays, spectral modelling of hypersonic boundary-layer transition with automatic differentiation, state-to-state modelling of vibrational nonequilibrium gasdynamics in supersonic expanding flows, and high-fidelity variable-density turbulence modelling. His Fields of Research (FoR) are turbulent flows, hypersonic propulsion and hypersonic aerothermodynamics, fundamental and theoretical fluid dynamics, and numerical solution of differential and integral equations. Notable publications feature "A semi-Lagrangian direct-interaction closure of the spectra of isotropic variable-density turbulence" (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2019, with C. Pantano), "A Roe-like numerical method for weakly hyperbolic systems of equations in conservation and non-conservation form" (Journal of Computational Physics, 2016, with T.A. Smith and C. Pantano), "Effects of oxygen enrichment on scramjet performance" (AIAA Journal, 2013, with V. Wheatley, M.K. Smart, S.A. Razzaqi), the book chapter "Spatially-Parallel Collision Scheme for Implementing Direct Simulation Monte Carlo in Field-Programmable Gate Arrays" (Springer Aerospace Technology, 2026, with S. Bhattarai, S. O’Byrne, E. Peters), conference paper "Performance Modeling and Comparisons of an FPGA-based Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Solver" (2025), and his PhD thesis "Flow physics of a hypervelocity mixing wake with oxygen enrichment".