Welcome to the Alfred Gessor Rotorcraft Center (AGRC) at the University of Maryland

Established in 1982, the AGRC is one of three nationwide university-based Centers of Excellence in Rotorcraft, and serves as a leader in rotorcraft education, research, and technology.

Named after former UMD chair of aerospace engineering Alfred Gessow (1922-2002), whose work helped establish precise methods of rotor analysis, the center was established with support from the Army Research Office and the Army/NASA/Navy.

Its core program covers aerodynamics, dynamics, flight mechanics, computational fluid dynamics, acoustics, transmissions and drivetrains, electric VTOL, composite structures and advanced designs. In addition, the center conducted distinguished research in "smart structures," including rotors that are controllable with next-generation actuators and "micro aerial vehicles," including rotor-based and flipping-wing-based, semi-autonomous palm-sized vehicles.

In addition, the AGRC is a two-time recipient of the American Helicopter Society's Glover Bell Award for fostering research and experimentation in helicopter development, and most recently, AGRC faculty were among the team awarded the Vertical Flight Society's (VFS) Howard Hughes award for work contributed to Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter.

The educational and research activities carried out by the center continue to grow and evolve as the rotorcraft industry enters a new age, with expanding interests and technologies in electric and automated rotorcraft, and applications ranging from delivery of goods to human transport.