Dr. Ricardo Vinuesa Joins U-M Aerospace Engineering

The Department of Aerospace Engineering is pleased to welcome Dr. Ricardo Vinuesa, who will be joining the department as an associate professor of aerospace engineering with tenure, effective. Aug. 25, 2025.

Dr. Vinuesa is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He is also Lead Faculty at the KTH Climate Action Centre. 

Dr. Vinuesa has a world-leading activity in the development of computational methods and AI to study and control turbulent flows, with important implications in the areas of sustainable air travel and urban canyons. Furthermore, he led a pioneering work on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the Sustainability Agendas of the United Nations. This work has influenced the AI Act regulating AI in Europe and has been highlighted as one key contribution by UNESCO.

Vinuesa’s work on AI for science is very well aligned with the strategic interests of the Aerospace Engineering Department, as well as the vision of the Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering (MICDE) which focuses on novel computational science and AI techniques to create transformative impact in a wide range of disciplines. Dr. Vinuesa’s work is also highly relevant to the recently announced partnership between U-M and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ricardo to our department,” said Prof. Carlos Cesnik, the Richard A. Auhll Aerospace Department Chair and Clarence L. (Kelly) Johnson Collegiate Professor. “His pioneering work in computational methods and AI for turbulence control, along with his contributions to sustainable aviation, will further elevate our leadership in computational sciences and sustainability. I am confident Ricardo will inspire our faculty and students to push the boundaries of aerospace engineering, and we eagerly anticipate the transformative impact he will bring to our community.”

Ricardo leads a group of around 30 researchers in Sweden, working on a wide range of topics including high-performance computing and acceleration of turbulence simulations in GPUs; explainable deep learning to discover fundamental mechanisms in turbulence; deep reinforcement learning to develop innovative flow-control strategies; deep generative modeling for improved prediction and sensing of turbulence; and large language models to develop the new Sustainability Agendas of the United Nations beyond 2030.

“I am beyond excited to join the Aerospace Engineering Department and MICDE at U-M since it is an incredibly stimulating and vibrant environment, perfect to develop research of the highest impact in key areas for the future.”

He studied Mechanical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), and he received his PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Dr. Vinuesa has received, among others, an ERC Consolidator Grant, the TSFP Kasagi Award, the MST Emerging Leaders Award, the Goran Gustafsson Award for Young Researchers, the IIT Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, the SARES Young Researcher Award and he leads several large Horizon Europe projects. He is also a member of the Young Academy of Science of Spain.

Welcome to U-M Aerospace, Dr. Vinuesa!