Principal Investigator

Education

  • Postdoctoral Scholarship, Stanford University, 2016
  • PhD Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2014
  • MS Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2011
  • BSE Mechanical Engineering, The University of Michigan, 2009

Biography

Dr. Goldenstein is the Avrum and Joyce Gray R. S. Professor in Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics (by courtesy). His research focuses on the development and application of optical diagnostics for studying non-equilibrium gases, hypersonic flows, combustion, and a variety of energy, propulsion, and defense applications. From 2009 to 2016, Professor Goldenstein conducted his graduate and postdoctoral research in the Hanson Group at Stanford University. There his research focused on the development and application of infrared laser diagnostics for studying detonation engines, scramjets, shock tubes, molecular spectroscopy, infrared photophysics, and chemical kinetics. Prof. Goldenstein has published over 100 articles and 1 textbook. He received a Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Young Investigator Award in 2016, an Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Award in 2017, the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2019, and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Early Career Faculty Award in 2020. In 2024 he received the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award from The Combustion Institute and Elsevier. He is a senior member of Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He is a member of the Combustion Institute and Tau Beta Pi (TBP). He is also one of the founding developers and co-owners of SpectraPlot.

Professor Goldenstein is also enthusiastic about teaching and mentoring students. At Purdue he teaches Thermodynamics I and II (ME 200, 300), Advanced (Graduate) Thermodynamics (ME 500), Statistical Thermodynamics (ME 501), and his own class ME 617 Applied Thermal Physics and Molecular Spectroscopy.

Outside of his research and teaching activities Dr. Goldenstein enjoys exploring the outdoors, fishing, photographing wildlife, and spending time with his family and friends.