Reid Berdanier is the director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Laboratory at Penn State. Credit: Kate Myers/Penn State.
Mechanical engineering early career professor: Reid Berdanier
May 11, 2026
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Reid Berdanier, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, was awarded the Bryant Early Career Professorship, a three-year professorship that Berdanier will hold until 2028. Edward Bryant, a 1963 industrial and manufacturing engineering Penn State graduate, and his wife Cheryl endowed the Bryant Early Career Professorship. Bryant received the 1990 Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award and the 1992 Alumni Fellow Award.
Q: What is the primary focus of your research?
Berdanier: I am the director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Laboratory at Penn State. The START Lab was originally founded in 2012 under the leadership of Dr. Karen A. Thole, who was recently appointed as the inaugural director of the National Security Institute at Penn State, as a partnership between Pratt & Whitney, the U.S. Department of Energy — National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) and Penn State. Since its introduction, the START Lab has led research and development for gas turbine engines supporting power generation and propulsion applications. Gas turbine engines represent approximately 50% of the national power generation capacity and a significant portion of the growth trajectory for new data centers; gas turbines also power nearly 100% of propulsion applications for commercial and military aircraft.
As director of the START Lab, I support a team leading the demonstration of new turbine aerothermal technologies with a focus on efficiency and durability. Gas turbine engines operate at temperatures far exceeding the melting point of the components — hotter than lava!, so, the components must be cooled to protect the hardware during operation. In recent years, the START Lab team has also embraced metal additive manufacturing as an enabling technology to accelerate turbine research capabilities. My research interests further emphasize the development of new instrumentation methodologies and data processing techniques for application to engine-relevant turbine environments.
Today, the START Lab is undergoing an expansion to build START+ — a new two-stage turbine research facility — through support from Pratt & Whitney, the Federal Aviation Administration, DOE-NETL and Penn State. The building construction is slated for completion this summer through coordinated funding from P&W, Penn State’s Office of the Senior Vice President for Research, the Penn State College of Engineering and the START Lab. The establishment of the new START+ facility will help maintain the START Lab at the center of research and development for future propulsion technology solutions at multiple scales and technology readiness levels.
Q: What are some notable grants or achievements you have recently received?
Berdanier: I am a recipient of the 2020 Dilip R. Ballal Early Career Engineering Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI). Most recently, I was elected Fellow of ASME in 2024, and associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2025. I also contributed as an author for Best Paper Award winning publications in the IGTI Heat Transfer Technical Committee for 2023 and 2024. In 2024, I was one of several contributing members of our START Lab team selected as winners of the Pratt & Whitney Earl Exum Community Impact Award for work conducted in support of P&W turbine engine technology development.
Q: How does Bryant Early Career Professorship impact your work, and what does it mean to receive this recognition?
Berdanier: I am incredibly honored by this acknowledgement from the college, and for the generosity of Edward and Cheryl Bryant. The work we do in the START Lab every day is driving forward innovative energy solutions, and the support of this professorship gives us a bigger springboard to facilitate future research success. This professorship is a truly a shared award highlighting the commitment and support of every student, staff and faculty in the START Lab.
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