SwRI’s Dr. Pablo Bueno named AIAA Associate Fellow

Researcher recognized for development of terrestrial energy systems, advancing optical diagnostics for high-speed flows.

2025-10-15

(Press-News.org) SAN ANTONIO — October 15, 2025 — Dr. Pablo Bueno of Southwest Research Institute’s Mechanical Engineering Division has been named an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

AIAA Associate Fellows are recognized for overseeing important engineering or scientific work, outstanding contributions to their field or original work of exceptional caliber. Associate Fellows must be recommended by at least three other associate fellows, be a senior member in good standing of the AIAA and have at least 12 years of professional experience. AIAA selects only one Associate Fellow for every 150 members each year.

“Dr. Bueno is a great engineer with lots of real-world experience in fluid mechanics and aircraft, including being a pilot and a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy,” said Dr. James Walker, an AIAA Fellow and director of SwRI’s Engineering Dynamics Department. “He has worked in small unmanned aerial vehicles, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and hypersonic flight. He also has done work in energy storage for both small- and large-scale power generation needs. Pablo has provided volunteer professional service to AIAA and was the chairman of the AIAA Southwest Texas Section, which includes aerospace engineers from McAllen to San Antonio and Austin.”

Bueno is a lead engineer in SwRI’s Computational Mechanics Section. He specializes in fluid mechanics and renewable energy, with a specific focus on supersonic and hypersonic aerodynamics, turbulence, optical diagnostics, particle dynamics, heat transfer and thermal energy storage.

“Dr. Bueno is the true embodiment of an aerospace engineer,” said SwRI’s Dr. Nicholas Mueschke, an AIAA associate fellow who nominated Bueno. “His past experience at the U.S. Air Force Academy and pilot training translates to his passion for all things aerospace today. His hands-on knowledge helps to tackle real world engineering research and development challenges every day.”

Bueno’s work at SwRI is focused on advancing energy systems with a strong emphasis on supercritical carbon dioxide systems (sCO2) and the development of optical diagnostics for high-speed flows. He developed a patented sensible heat storage system for sCO2 concentrated solar power plants. Bueno has also created advanced optical diagnostic imaging tools to study how air behaves when moving at supersonic and hypersonic speeds. He has used SwRI’s subsonic wind tunnel to measure flight parameters for small UAVs.

He is currently leading two internally funded SwRI projects focused on obtaining nonintrusive optical measurements in challenging hypersonic environments. The experimental methods, data analysis techniques and results are important to missile defense and planetary defense applications.

Bueno has a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from The United States Air Force Academy, and a master’s degree and doctorate in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He joined SwRI in 2012.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/defense-security/blast-impact/ballistics-explosives/computational-mechanics.

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SwRI’s Dr. Pablo Bueno named AIAA Associate Fellow

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