Professor Laurent Dala

Professor

School: Engineering, Physics and Mathematics

Laurent Dala Laurent received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Manchester. He also graduated from the French Grandes Ecoles in Aerospace Engineering (Ecole Superieure des Techniques Aerospatiales-ESTA) and in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (Ecole Speciale des Travaux Publics, du Batiment et de l’Industrie-ESTP).

He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Chartered Engineer (CEng and Eur-Ing) and the Past President of the Aeronautical Society of South Africa (AeSSA).

Laurent was titular of the Chair in Aerospace Engineering and Head of the Aerospace Research Group at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) till October 2016. He has a very long and successful experience in applied and fundamental research in international aerospace projects, such as in the FP6 European project NACRE (New Aircraft Concepts Research), where he was the Chairman of the Advisory Group. His research is based on a multi- and cross- discipline approach, combining analytical/engineering (using Asymptotic Theory for instance), experimental and computational methods.

His fields of expertise are Aerodynamics, Aeroelasticity, Aeroacoustics, Flight Mechanics and Multidisciplinary Optimisation Methods.

Campus Address

209
Wynne Jones Bulding
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

Email Laurent

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Flatness-based control in successive loops for the 6-DOF autonomous stratospheric airship, Rigatos, G., Siano, P., Gao, Z., Franch, J., Dala, L., Limaverde-Filho, J., Ouahada, K. 18 May 2026, In: Discover Robotics
Nonlinear Optimal and Multi-Loop Flatness-Based Control of the 6-DOF Coaxial Rotor UAV, Rigatos, G., Busawon, K., Siano, P., Gao, Z., Abbaszadeh, M., Dala, L. 1 Mar 2026, In: Advanced Control for Applications: Engineering and Industrial Systems
Nonlinear Optimal Control for Guidance and 3D Trajectory Tracking of Missiles, Rigatos, G., Dala, L., Siano, P., Cuccurullo, G. 31 Aug 2025, In: Guidance, Navigation and Control
On the optimal size of square-lobed trailing edges in transonic flow over a backward-facing step, Zeng, K., Shen, X., Yang, L., Dala, L. 1 Dec 2025, In: Aerospace Science and Technology
A new exploration on passive control of transonic flow over a backward-facing step, Shen, X., Zeng, K., Yang, L., Zhu, C., Dala, L. 13 Aug 2024, In: International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
Flatness-Based Control In Successive Loops For Autonomous Quadrotors, Rigatos, G., Abbaszadeh, M., Busawon, K., Dala, L., Pomares, J., Zouari, F. 1 Mar 2024, In: Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control, Transactions of the ASME
Flatness-Based Control in Successive Loops for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Micro-Satellites, Rigatos, G., Abbaszadeh, M., Busawon, K., Dala, L. 7 Feb 2024, In: Guidance, Navigation and Control
Nonlinear Dynamic Stability Analysis of Ground Effect Vehicles in Waves Using Poincaré–Lindstedt Perturbation Method, Masri, J., Dala, L., Huard, B. 25 Nov 2024, In: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Influence of curvature distribution smoothing on the reduction of aerofoil self-noise, Shen, X., Avital, E., Ikram, Z., Yang, L., Korakianitis, T., Dala, L. 24 Apr 2023, In: International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid Flow
Aerodynamic Optimisations of Vortex Generators on a Wind Turbine Aerofoil using an Adjoint Solver, Shen, X., Dala, L., Xu, B., Yang, L., Zhu, C., Conchello, A. 14 Dec 2022, IEEE 7th International Conference on Environment Friendly Energies and Applications, IEEE

PGR Supervision

Ravindu Ranaweera Effects of Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Performance of Vehicles Travelling in Platoons Start Date: 24/04/2019 End Date: 20/03/2026
Ravindu Ranaweera Effects of Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Performance of Vehicles Travelling in Platoons Start Date: 24/04/2019 End Date: 17/10/2025

Qualifications