Rate My Professor Niloofar Kamran

Niloofar Kamran is Associate Professor of Engineering and Department Chair in the Engineering and Physics Department at Cornell College, a position she has held since joining the faculty as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2017. She earned a Ph.D. in engineering physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, an M.S. in aerospace engineering from Shahid Beheshti University in Iran, and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Guilan University in Iran. Kamran teaches introductory physics and core engineering courses, as well as upper-level topics including Engineering Thermodynamics, Engineering Circuits, Fluid Dynamics, Heat Transfer, and Signals and Systems. Her teaching emphasizes hands-on learning in a liberal arts environment, supporting programs like Engineering Studies, B.A.

Kamran's research focuses on control theory, nonlinear control, sliding mode control, and optimal control, particularly applied to spacecraft attitude dynamics, orbital maneuvering, and distributed parameter systems. Notable publications include "Modeling and numerical simulation of linear and nonlinear spacecraft attitude dynamics and gravity gradient moments: A comparative study" (Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 2012), "Orbital and attitude control of a spacecraft around an asteroid" (International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems, 2012), "Nonlinear observer for distributed parameter systems described by decoupled advection equations" (Journal of Vibration and Control, 2015), and "Sliding mode observer for fluid flow" (IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications, 2017). She mentors undergraduate research, such as the 2022 student project to design and build a wind tunnel, and has presented on undergraduate projects in liberal arts colleges at the American Society for Engineering Education. Kamran serves as Vice-Chair of the Diversity Committee and is a media expert on aerospace innovations, contributing insights to ABC News, Business Insider, and others on SpaceX missions and space tourism.