Dr. Umberto Saetti is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD), where he directs the Extended Reality Flight Simulation and Control Lab and leads rotorcraft dynamics and control teaching and research within the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center. Prior to UMD, he held appointments as Assistant Professor at Auburn University, as Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech, and as Visiting Scholar at the U.S. Army Aviation Development Directorate at NASA Ames. Dr. Saetti holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (with a minor in Computational Science), an M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, and an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He received a B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Dr. Saetti's research and teaching focus on three major areas: (i) flight dynamics, control, and handling qualities, (ii) state-space modeling of aeromechanics/aeroacoustics of vertical lift vehicles, and (iii)  human-machine interaction. In more detail, his research involves modeling, simulation, order reduction, and control of the coupled flight dynamics, aeromechanics, and aeroacoustics of vertical lift vehicles. These models are used for studies involving immersive simulations that make use of Extended Reality (XR), human-machine interaction, synthesis of advanced flight control laws, and development of multimodal, neuro-adaptive pilot cueing methods.

Dr. Saetti is the recipient of the 2022 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) and 2024 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) awards. Additionally, he received the Barnes McCormick Memorial Scholarship, awarded by the Vertical Flight Foundation (VFF) for outstanding accomplishments as a doctoral candidate in the vertical flight field.