Biography

Raja Akif Raja Zahirudin is a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Institute of Technology specializing in rotorcraft aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, and advanced aerospace systems. He holds a doctorate, master’s, and bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering—with a minor in Engineering Mechanics and an Engineering Design Certificate—from Penn State. Raja has experience building various experimental test systems, including the Coaxial Acoustic Test System, and has led campaigns for multirotors, eVTOL, and UAS vehicles. He has collaborated with government agencies such as NASA on rotor noise research and supported wind tunnel tests for the NASA-JHU APL Dragonfly Titan mission. Recognized with the 2021 Vertical Flight Foundation Barnes M. McCormick Scholarship, Raja has served in leadership roles for the Vertical Flight Society Penn State chapter and regularly presents on emerging aerospace technologies. In his free time, he enjoys learning new languages, cycling, and flight simulators

Research

NASA RAVEN eVTOL Download Tests & Cereal Lab Experimental Support

Publications

Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Greenwood, E., Palacios, J., “Broadband Noise Behavior in Coaxial Co-
Rotating Rotors”, VFS 81st Forum, Virginia Beach, VA, May 2025

Robertson, N., Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Greenwood, E., Palacios, J., “Experimental Acoustics and
Performance of Coaxial Toroidal Rotors”, AIAA Journal of Aircraft, Under Revision

McThane, E., Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Hafner, A.,Greenwood, E., Palacios, J., “Effect of Varying
Separation Distance on the Acoustics and Performance of Counter-Rotating Coaxial Rotors”, AIAA
Aviation 2023, San Diego, CA, 2023, DOI: 10.2514/6.2023-4292

Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Valente, V., McThane, E., Hafner, A., Birbeck, Z., Yan, S., Greenwood,
E., Palacios, J., “The Effect of Phase Offset Angle for Coaxial Co-Rotating Rotors”, VFS 79 Forum,
West Palm Beach, FL, 2023, DOI: 10.4050/F-0079-2023-17939

Opazo, T., Yan, S., Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Langelaan, J., Palacios, J., “Analytical and
Experimental Hover Power Minimization for Fixed-Pitch Coaxial Rotors”, AIAA Journal of Aircraft,
2022, DOI: 10.2514/1.C036807

Nguyen, N., Xiong, J., Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Yan, S., Palacios, J., “Anti-Phase Vortex Reduction
Control for Rotor Noise Suppression”, AIAA Aviation 2021, Virtual, 2021, DOI: 10.2514/6.2021-
2284

Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Weittsman D., Palacios, J., Greenwood, E., “Development of a Coaxial
Acoustic Test System for Rotor Noise”, VFS 77th Forum, Virtual, 2021, DOI: 10.4050/F-0077-2021-
16682

Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Yan, S., Nguyen, N., Xiong, J., Palacios, J., “Experimental Acoustic
Characterization of Anti-Phase Asymmetric Rotors”, VFS 76th Forum, Virtual, 2020, DOI:
10.4050/F-0076-2020-16487

Zahirudin, R., R.A.B., Yan, S., Nguyen, N., Xiong, J., Palacios, J., “Evaluation of the
Computational Benefits of De-Coupling Convection and Conduction Heat Transfer on a Simple
Impinging Jet”, AIAA SciTech 2019, San Diego, CA 2019, DOI: 10.2514/6.2019-2060.c1

Favorite Cereal

Raisin Bran