PhD, Aerospace Engineering (2012) Penn State University (PA)
MS, Aerospace Engineering (2007) Penn State University (PA)
BS, Aerospace Engineering (2007) Penn State University (PA)
About Me
I am passionate about career readiness, rotorcraft, and leadership, and love to explore new topics. With my wife (also an engineering professor) and two daughters, we enjoy traveling, hiking, kayaking, board games, building, being active, writing, and storytelling. I grew up in the Philadelphia region and am excited to be back here joining the Widener family.
Throughout my 19 years with Parker Lord, I designed rotor parts for 5 aircraft, contributed to the design of dozens of other aerospace components, and served as the principal engineer for scores of design changes. I conducted leading edge CFD analysis on multiple product lines including nonlinear dampers, elastomer mold fill, fire impingement on aircraft structures, undersea oil and gas heat transfer, and downhole drilling pulser and erosion studies. I currently hold four patents related to multi-state fluidlastic dampers, embedded rotor head sensing, and oil and gas downhole erosion treatments.
Leadership, mentorship, and development have always been core values in which I look to actively engage. I led multiple teams throughout Parker including in Technology Development, Aftermarket Engineering, and Rotary Wing Design. Additionally I led the PeerW Mentoring Team focused on attracting, developing, and retaining women, serving over 630 team members across Parker. One of my most rewarding activities was spearheading the University Engagement Team, revitalizing the Parker Lord Intern and Co-op program to become one of the best in the country, deepening ties with universities, sponsoring senior design projects, and sponsoring research. During my time at Parker, I was an industry sponsor for multiple graduate students, contributing to 13 publications. Additionally, I have been an active member of the Vertical Flight Society since 2005, and am excited to continue to contribute to the growth of the rotorcraft industry.
Research Interests
Rotorcraft
Vibration Control and Capability
CFD
Career Readiness
Internship/Co-op
Leadership Development
Publications
Arzalluz, I., Ji, X., Piovesan, D., Marr, C. (2025) Additive Manufacturing Design of a Vibration Isolator for Rotorcraft Simulator Seats. In Proceedings of the 81st Vertical Flight Society Forum, Virginia Beach, VA, May 20-22, 2025.
Rai, G., Rahn, C., Smith, E., & Marr, C. (2023). 3D printed circular nodal plate stacks for broadband vibration isolation. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 554, 117647.
LeVevre, B., Davis, M., Marr, C., Rusk, D, Johnson, C. “Integrated Hybrid Structural Management System (IHSMS) – Usage and Loads Monitoring,” In Proceedings of the 73rd American Helicopter Society Forum, Fort Worth, Texas, May 9-11, 2017.
Marr, C., Fuhrer, Z., Lesieutre, G. A., & Smith, E. (2011, July). Multi-state lead-lag damper development and validation. In 67th American Helicopter Society International Annual Forum 2011 (pp. 3024-3038).
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
Vertical Flight Society
Penn State Aerospace Industrial and Professional Advisory Board Chair
Penn State Leonhard Center Advisory Board Member
Awards
CIEC Best Presenter Cooperative and Experiential Education Division (CEED), 2026
Early Career Award, Penn State University (2025)
PeerW Mentoring Circles Ally of the Year, Parker Lord (2022)
Lichten Award, AHS/NASA (2008)
Noteworthy
Widener Engineering Students Sweep ASME Philadelphia Project Competition Awards
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Philadelphia section recently awarded two teams of Widener engineering students all three of its engineering project competition awards, after judging projects from five area colleges and universities.
The annual competition supports senior design engineering projects.
Widener’s biomedical engineering team won honors for best oral presentation and best overall presentation. The team project, adivsed by Associate Professor Saeed Tiari, chair of biomedical engineering, was titled “Smart Prosthetic Sleeve for Temperature Control.” Students on the team included Kayleigh Armstrong, Yamen Jlilati, Akem Kpuyuf and Victoria Rebelo.
The mechanical engineering team won the best poster award. The team project, advised by Assistant Professor Conor Marr and sponsored by Boeing and supported by Parker Lord, was titled “Design of an Isolator Fatigue Test Table.” The team included students Boston Blake, Nicholas Campanella, Jonathan Custer, Anthony Husbands, Lukas Nachimson and Michael Walker.
The awards were judged by industry professionals in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers who looked at the scope of the work, its applicability to industry and the students’ abilities to clearly present, explain and defend their designs. Widener students competed against nine other engineering student design teams out of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Villanova University and Thomas Jefferson University.
The competition began in the fall with a record number of proposals submitted to the society from multiple universities in the region Widener’s two teams were selected to receive a $600 award each to support development of their projects and were selected as finalists to attend the society banquet. They presented the culmination of their work at the society’s banquet on April 21 and won all three competition prizes.
