Robyn Woollands LinkedIn ORCID
Assistant Professor
Dr. Robyn Woollands is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). At UIUC, she runs the Computation, Optimization, Simulation, and Modeling of Orbiting Spacecraft (COSMOS) research lab. Her research primarily focuses on computational astrodynamics, trajectory optimization, and estimation. Dr. Woollands has secured research funding from prominent entities such as the The Aerospace Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., NASA, and AFRL. She is a recipient of the 2024 Air Force Office of Scientific Research's Young Investigator Career Award. Presently, she advises five PhD students and one MS student.
Prior to her academic role, Dr. Woollands was a Mission Design Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology. During her nearly four-year term at JPL, she actively participated in multiple significant projects, including as a member of the navigation team for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the return phase of JAXA’s Hyabusa2 mission. Dr. Woollands also undertook the responsibilities of Principal Investigator, supervising a collaborative team of NASA and university researchers focused on the development of low-thrust trajectory optimization tools. Furthermore, her expertise extended to trajectory design for the Europa Lander mission concept as well as to studies of a Mars-oriented cubesat constellation mission that could potentially enable comprehensive investigations of dust devils on the Martian surface.
Prior to joining JPL, Dr. Woollands completed her Ph.D. in the Aerospace Department at Texas A&M University, where she was advised by Professor John Junkins. She is a recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Student Doctoral Award for Excellence in Research at Texas A&M University. Dr. Woollands completed B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and an M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota. While at the University of Canterbury, she also completed the Graduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies and spent two weeks in Antarctica. Dr. Woollands holds a Private Pilot's License from Canterbury Aero Club in New Zealand.
Dr. Woollands is a member of the American Institue of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Astronautical Society (AAS). She currently serves as a member of the AAS Spaceflight Mechanics Committee.
Recent Courses Taught
- AE 402 - Orbital Mechanics
- AE 403 - Spacecraft Attitude Control
- AE 502 - Advanced Orbital Mechanics
- AE 508 - Optimal Space Trajectories