Prof. Steven Barrett

H N Slater Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Department Head / Aeronautics and Astronautics
Director, Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment (LAE)
Director, Electric Aircraft Initiative

Primary DLC

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

MIT Room: 33-207

Areas of Interest and Expertise

Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Aviation
Aircraft Propulsion and Emissions
Electric Aircraft Propulsion
Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Impacts of Aircraft Noise
Air Pollution Impacts of Ground Transportation
Atmospheric Modeling

Research Summary

Professor Barrett is director of the MIT Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment and is also a Visiting Professor at Seoul National University's Mechanical Engineering Department. Before joining MIT in 2010 Barrett was a faculty member at Cambridge University's Engineering Department, where he completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering.

The aim of Barrett’s research is to help aviation achieve zero environmental impacts. This includes developing low emissions and noise propulsion technologies for aircraft, improving scientific understanding of the atmospheric impacts of aircraft pollution, advancing approaches for contrail avoidance, and evaluating the sustainability of biofuels and electric aircraft. Steven also has research interests in ground vehicle electrification, novel propulsion technologies for future aerospace vehicles, and broader climate change and air pollution topics. His work spans fundamental technology development through to environmental policy assessment.

Professor Barrett has written over 100 journal publications and is current or former supervisor of about 75 graduate theses. Steven’s teaching at MIT includes the undergraduate jet and rocket propulsion course, a graduate-level course on aerospace, energy, and the environment, and a graduate-level course on advanced propulsion concepts. He has contributed to STEM outreach activities since 2003.

Recent Work