Joshua L. Rovey

For More Information

• Department Profile
• Electric Propulsion Laboratory
• Illinois Space Grant Consortium
• SpaceLab Education and Outreach
• Illinois Space Technology Academy

Education

• Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, April 2006, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Academic Positions

• Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Aug 2022 - present
• Director, Illinois Space Grant Consortium, Jan 2019 - present
• Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Aug 2017 - Aug 2022

Research Interests

• Space Propulsion
• Electric Propulsion
• Plasmadynamics
• Nanosatellites

Selected Articles in Journals

• Rovey, J.L., Lyne, C.T.,* Mundahl, A.J.,* Rasmont, N.,* Glascock, M.S.,* Wainwright, M.J.,*and Berg, S.P., “Review of Multimode Space Propulsion,” Progress in Aerospace Sciences, Vol. 118, pp. 100627, Oct. 2020. Invited review paper.
• Rasmont, N.*, Rovey, J.L., Villafane, L., “Validation and Calibration of a Millimeter Wave Interferometer for Concentration Measurements in Particle-Laden Flows,” International Journal of Multiphase Flow, Vol. 189, No. 105234, April 2025.
• Lim, G., Clark, S.A.*, Thompson, R.*, Tran, H., Levin, D.A., Rovey, J.L., Chew, H.B., “Comparison of Molecular Dynamics Informed Particle-in-Cell Carbon Sputter Simulations with Ground Facility Experiments,” Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 138, No. 6, Aug. 2025
• Falcone, G., Ryan, C.N., Berg, S.P., Lembeck, M., Rovey, J.L., Putnam, Z.R., “Comparison of Propulsion System Options for Satellite Servicer Applications,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Articles in Advance, Nov. 12, 2025
• Puri, R.*, Miley, G.H., Rovey, J.L., Furlin, M.L., Gong, M.Y.*, Ziehm, E.P., “Discharge Characteristics and Operational Modes in an Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Plasma Source,” Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 23, No. 12, Dec 2025. Editor’s Pick

Professional Societies

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Associate Fellow
• Member, Electric Rocket Propulsion Society (ERPS)

Honors

• AIAA National Lawrence B. Sperry Young Professional Award (2016)

Teaching Honors

• Provost Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2023)

Recent Courses Taught

• AE 298 ISG - Intro to Rocketry
• AE 398 ISG - ISG Project
• AE 433 - Aerospace Propulsion
• AE 434 - Rocket Propulsion
• AE 435 - Electric Propulsion
• AE 435 - Electric Space Propulsion