Member-Profiles


Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Prof. Aslan graduated as an Aeronautical Engineer from the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Department of Aeronautical Engineering. He received his MSc degree from the same department in 1985. Then, he completed the Diploma Course of the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics with a scholarship in 1986. He received his Ph.D. from the same institute together with Universite Libre de Bruxelles in 1991. The same year, he started working as a faculty member (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Astronautical Engineering of ITU. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1993 and became a full Professor in 1999, both at the same institution. He was a visiting professor and worked as an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University, USA, between 2001 and 2002. Prof. A. Rüstem Aslan served as the head of the Department of Astronautical Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) from 2004 to 2013. He has been the Deputy Director of Rotorcraft Center of Excellence (ROTAM) of ITU since 2003. He has also served as the coordinator of the Defense Technologies Graduate programme and co-director of the ITU Distance Education Center, in addition to other various administrative positions. He has also established seven labs including the spacecraft systems design and test lab. He is member a IAF, AMSAT-TR and UNISEC-Global. Dr. Aslan’s research interests include the design, analysis and development of nano (two is in orbit) and microsatellites, manned and unmanned rotorcraft systems, computational fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, and defense and education technologies. Dr. Aslan has authored or co-authored over hunder thirty technical publications (full-length). His fourty research projects have been sponsored by various civil and military funding agencies and industries. Contact: aslanr(at)itu.edu.tr

Turkey, Prof. A. Rüstem Aslan



Samara State Aerospace University Dr. Igor V. Belokonov has served Samara State Aerospace University since 1976. Currently he is the Head of Department of Space research, Professor of Dynamics Flight and Control Systems of Samara State Aerospace University, Vice-President and Executive Director of Volga Branch of Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, and General Director of Samara Scientific Center of Space Technologies. He obtained DIPL. ENGINEER, KUYHBUSHEV AVIATION INSTITUTE in 1973, CAND. OF TECH.SCI., KUYHBUSHEV AVIATION INSTITUTE in 1976, and DR. OF TECH. SCI., SAMARA STATE AEROSPACE UNIVERSITY in 1999. His research interest includes ballistics, navigation and guidance in space, optimal planning and algorithms of satellite radio navigating for spacecraft. Other activities and responsibilities include Academician of Russian Academy of Cosmonautics (1997 – present), Academician of International Academy for Navigating and Motion Control (2006 – present), Foreign Member of “Institute of Navigation” (USA) (1998 – 2002), Member of Editorial Boards of “Aerospace Instrumentation Technologies”, “Control and Computer Science” Journals, the Head of Russian-European Summer Space School “Future Space Technologies and Experiments in Space”(2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011), etc. He participated in the experiments on space vehicles Foton-12 (1999), Foton-M2 (2005), Foton-M3 (2007). He published more than 200 science articles. Contact: ibelokonov(at)mail.ru

Russia, Dr. Igor V. Belokonov



Director of Lithuanian Space Association Vidmantas Tomkus received an MS degree in Physics at Vilnius University. Starting in 1985, he has worked at the Semiconductors Physics Institute of Academy of Sciences of Lithuania. From 1994 until the present time, he has worked at different positions in telecommunications and satellite industries such as CTO at Radio M-1, CEO at JSC “Dicto Citius” and JSC “Arcus Novus”. In 2007, he was assigned as an Expert of Inter-ministerial Working groups of the National Space Program, Integrated Programs in ICT, Mechatronics, Lasers, New Materials, Strategy of Research Infrastructures of Lithuania, Member of Council of Semiconductor Physics Institute and Chairman of National Space Technology Platform of Lithuania. Since 2009, Vidmantas Tomkus has served as a director of the Lithuanian Space Association and deals with the promotion of space-related activities of Lithuanian R&D institutions and SME’s, co-operation with the European Space Agency, bilateral relations with national space agencies and companies working in the space industry. In 2010, he was assigned as an EC Committee FP7 Space Expert. Contact: vidmantas.tomkus(at)gmail.com

Lithuania, Dr. Vidmantas Tomkus



University of Wuerzburg Prof. Dr. Schilling worked in space industry on design of interplanetary satellites (including HUYGENS to the Saturnian Moon Titan and ROSETTA for cometary exploration) before he became Ordinarius Informatics VII: Robotics and Telematics at University Würzburg. In parallel he is president of the company “Zentrum für Telematik e.V.”. He received 2012 an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council for networked satellites system control and was recipient of the Walter-Reis-Award for Innovations in Robotics 2008 and 2012. He is corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics. At Stanford University he was Consulting Professor 2002-2006. In the International Federation on Automatic Control (IFAC) he serves since 2008 as Chairman of “Technical Committee on Telematics” and at IEEE was appointed 2006 – 2012 as chairman of the “Technical Committee on Networked Robotics”. Contact: schi(at)informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de

Germany, Prof. Klaus Schilling