Dr. Ropp has over 18 years' experience in technical operations and educational development in risk-sensitive technology industries, including airframe heavy maintenance operations for United Airlines. He is an FAA certificated Airframe and Powerplant mechanic and certificated Private pilot. He has taught in SATT's Aeronautical Engineering Technology program since 2005, using the School's large transport laboratory jets as research and immersive learning platforms for students. His research focus areas include integration of Industry 5.0 and digital thread technologies and frameworks into air vehicle maintenance, aerospace manufacturing, and adapting emerging cross-over process engineering practices from AET into Commercial Space operations. Dr. Ropp has served on the Federal Aviation Administration's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Institute through the Joint Planning and Development Office in Washington, D.C. (2008-2010) as a safety working group member, and researched and presented on safety risk management systems around the world. While at Purdue he has developed and deployed safety management systems, quality management system and human factors leadership training in several industry sectors including work with the U.S. Navy’s Undersea Weapons facility at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and some of the largest aviation Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) and Air Carrier organizations in North America.
Dr. Ropp Directs the Aerospace and MRO Technology Innovation (AMT-I) Center at Purdue, and leads its R&D arm - Hangar of the Future Research Laboratory. The lab focuses on mid-level innovation of digital data and autonomous robotic tools for front line air vehicle Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul operations and advanced aerospace manufacturing processes. Projects utilize Augmented and Mixed Reality, Robotics and AI-powered Digital Twinning / Predictive Maintenance tools. His award winning undergraduate and graduate student research teams are often published, are invited presenters at conferences and STEM career and education demonstrations around the U.S. and have patent disclosures on key projects. His student design teams have won and placed multiple national design competitions including FAA, Boeing, and at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine - Transportation Research Board (TRB) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) University Design Competition. His AMT-I Center's Hangar of the Future lab and student teams have been featured in Aviation Week and Space Technology, Popular Mechanics magazine and the national Big Ten Network.
