b. Israel 1954. B.Sc., Technion, 1980. M.Sc., Technion, 1982. D.Sc., Technion, 1985. 1985-1987, University of Maryland, USA. At the Technion since 1987. 1993/4 U.S. Army Advanced Systems Research & Analysis Office, NASA Ames Research Center, USA. Professor since 2003. Holds the Shirley and Burt Harris Academic Chair since 2005. Dean, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering 2006-2010. Head, The Technion Autonomous Systems Program (TASP) 2010-2011, Visiting Professor, Rotorcraft Center, University of Maryland, USA, 2011. Since 2012 – Director of the Samuel Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies in Science & Technology at the Technion. Fellow of the American Helicopter Society.
Prof. Rand’s involvement with rotorcraft technology began in 1980. He earned his Ph.D. at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1986. After a postdoc stay at the University of Maryland Rotorcraft Center, he joined in 1987 the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technion. In 1993-1994, Prof. Rand spent a sabbatical year as Resident Research Associate at the Advanced Systems Research & Analysis Office of the, U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command at Ames Research Center. He was promoted to Professor in 2003. Between 2006 and 2010 Prof. Rand served as the Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and as Head of the Aerospace Research Center at the Technion.
Prof. Rand is the author of “Analytical Methods in Anisotropic Elasticity” (published by Birkhäuser Mathematics). This comprehensive textbook/reference focuses on the mathematical techniques and solution methodologies required to establish the foundations of anisotropic elasticity and provides the theoretical background for composite material analysis. Specific attention is devoted to the potential of modern symbolic computational tools to support highly complex analytical solutions and their contribution to the rigor, analytical uniformity and exactness of the derivation. Most of this book is devoted to Beams of General Anisotropy, Homogeneous, Uncoupled Monoclinic Beams, Non-Homogeneous Plane and Beam Analysis, Solid Coupled Monoclinic Beams and Thin-Walled Coupled Monoclinic Beams, which may be all directly applied to composite blade analysis.
From 2001-2007, Prof. Rand served as the Editor-in-Chief of Science and Engineering of Composite Materials – a quarterly publication that provides a forum for discussion of all aspects related to the structure and performance under simulated and actual service conditions of composites. This publication covers a variety of subjects, such as macro- and micro-structure of the materials, their mechanics and micromechanics, physical and chemical aging, fatigue, environmental interactions, and process modeling.
Since August 2000 Prof. Rand represents Israel as a Member of the General Assembly and Program Committee of The International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) and takes an active part in its committees.
Prof. Rand is the organizer of The Annual Israeli Symposium On Composite Materials and Structures that for the last 15 years has taken place at the Technion.
Prof. Rand was one of the initiators of The Technion Autonomous Systems Program (TASP). At present, the program consists of five major centers: the Arlene and Arnold Goldstein Center for UAVs and Satellites, Unmanned Ground and Marine Systems, Autonomous Medical Systems, Autonomous Agent Networks, and Household and Industrial Robotics.
For more than 20 years, Prof. Rand has been part of the US-Israel MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) where he leads research in fundamental rotary-wing phenomena among which were: Coupled Rotor—Body Modeling, Helicopter Flight Mechanics Modeling, Rotorcraft Analysis for Preliminary Design, Whirl-Flutter Analysis, Tilt-Rotor Composite Wing Model, Minimum-Induced Power Loss of Helicopter Rotor via Circulation Optimization, Preliminary Design by Statistics, and Coaxial Rotors for VTOL UAVs. Cooperation with researchers in the US side led to many joint publications. Research in Israel side was supported extensively by the Israeli MOD.
Prof. Rand is the author and developer of the computer code RAPiD (Rotorcraft Analysis for Preliminary Design). The code is a preliminary design tool for helicopters and tilt-rotors, and is based on advanced numerical methodology. RAPID serves as a basic tool for rotary-wing performance and stability analysis in various sites in Israel, mainly for converting full-scale existing configurations into UAVs and for mishap investigations.
