Thomas Beutner

2018 Co-op Hall of Fame Inductee

Education 

B.S. ’87, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University
M.S. ’88, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University
Ph.D. ’94, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University

Professional Career 

Thomas Beutner has worked in research areas including advanced diagnostics, computational fluid dynamics, and applied aerodynamics. After completing his doctorate degree, he led a wind tunnel diagnostics group in the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. In 1999 he became a program manager at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He later became a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 

In 2010, he entered the Senior Executive Service, in which he served as the Director of Aerospace Sciences, and later as the Department Head for Air Warfare and Weapons at the Office of Naval Research. In 2018, he returned to DARPA as the Deputy Director of the Tactical Technology Office, Dr. Beutner was recognized as an Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Alumni from the Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2007, and as a Distinguished Engineering Alumni by the College of Engineering in 2018.

Co-op Alumnus

Thomas Beutner was a co-op student as an undergraduate in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He completed four co-op rotations at General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas. During his co-op periods, he worked in several areas, including aerodynamic analysis, propulsion design and flight dynamics, working on the F-16, advanced design aircraft, and competitor vehicles analysis.