UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Reid A. Berdanier has been named director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab at Penn State, effective Aug. 15. Berdanier succeeds founding director Karen Thole, who is now dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. 

The START Lab was founded as the most advanced turbine testing lab in the U.S. through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Lab (DOE-NETL), Pratt & Whitney and Penn State. The turbine testing facility was designed to perform turbine aerodynamic and heat transfer studies, along with instrumentation development and integration of additive manufacturing to increase the speed in advancing turbine research. With these capabilities, the START facility has a strong track record of directly impacting products through research with proprietary vanes and blades. Moreover, through collaborative support by DOE-NETL and industry partners, the START team also created the National Experimental Turbine (NExT) as a research vehicle for future turbine research and development.  

In his role as director, Berdanier — who has been a research faculty member of the lab since 2016 — will work with a team of about 10 graduate students supported by five full-time faculty and staff to address the future of gas turbines for propulsion and power generation applications. The team collectively collaborates with government and industry sponsors while educating a new generation of students studying applied research topics. A $26 million expansion of the START Lab also is currently underway with START+, a new facility that will uniquely approach innovative solutions for gas turbine research through strong support from the Federal Aviation Administration and DOE-NETL, along with direct partnership from Pratt & Whitney and Penn State, according to Berdanier. 

“Facilities and labs such as the START Lab are a key contributor to Penn State’s critical research innovations and our reputation as a world-class research institution,” said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. “I had the opportunity to tour the START Lab earlier this year, and I am impressed by their work to reduce fuel burn in jet engines. I have no doubt that START will continue to thrive under Reid Berdanier’s leadership.”  

Berdanier earned a bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University in 2010, followed by a master’s of science in mechanical engineering and doctorate from Purdue University in 2012 and 2015, respectively. Since he joined the START Lab in 2016, Berdanier has since worked with industry and government sponsors to facilitate the development of new instrumentation methodologies and data processing techniques in the START Lab for application to engine-relevant turbine environments. During his tenure with the lab, he has worked with many students, helping to mentor graduate and undergraduate students as they complete their research projects.  

“The START Lab exemplifies much of what we are proud of in the College of Engineering: our industry and government partnerships, our state-of-the-art facilities, our sustainable and novel research developments and our opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students alike,” said Tonya L. Peeples, the Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering. “We are grateful to the previous director Karen Thole for all of the progress possible thanks to her hard work, and we are thrilled to see what is to come in this new chapter led by Reid Berdanier, who has been a committed and crucial member of the START Lab for eight years.” 

Berdanier was elected fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2024, and he is the 2020 recipient of the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute Dilip R. Ballal Early Career Engineer Award. He also is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Strategic Advisory Board member for the Propulsion Instrumentation Working Group. 

“I am incredibly humbled by this opportunity to continue the legacy of the START Lab started more than a decade ago by Dr. Karen Thole,” Berdanier said. “In partnership with the amazing START team, I am looking forward to further advancing collaborations with our research sponsors to tackle meaningful challenges shaping the future of gas turbine engines.”