Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1998
  • M.S., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1991
  • B.S., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1989
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Mechanical, California, #33404
  • Professional Engineer, Connecticut, #PEN.0029945
  • Professional Engineer Mechanical, Florida, #70277
  • Professional Engineer Aeronautical, Massachusetts, #50794
  • Professional Engineer, New Jersey, #24GE05147900
  • Professional Engineer, New York, #93647
  • Professional Engineer, Pennsylvania, #PE081587
  • 3rd degree black belt in Aikido
  • 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER)
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
  • Certified Flight Instructor in single and multiengine airplanes and instruments
  • Certified Forklift Operator (CFO)
  • Commercial Airplane, Glider, Instrument, aerobatic,multiengine and remote rated pilot
  • First Aid, CPR, and AED trained
  • NAUI Certified Open Water Diver
  • Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, Traffic Crash Reconstruction for Engineers
  • SAE Fundamentals of Heavy Truck Dynamics Course
Academic Appointments
  • Adjunct Faculty, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, Fall 2017-present
Professional Honors
  • NASA Certificate of Recognition from Inventions and Contributions Board, 2005
  • Nominated NASA Software of the year, 2003
  • NASA Spaceflight Awareness Award, 2002
  • Recipient Best Paper Award at AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Controls Conference, 2002
  • USA Superior Achievement Recognition Award for Technical Achievement, 2001
  • USA Employee of the month for Technical Achievement, August 2001
  • NASA Astronaut Selection Finalist, 2000
  • Nominated to be one of M.I.T. Aero/Astro XVI sixteen "whose innovation and vision for the future will help to create a future of opportunity," NASA Certificate of Recognition and cash award "For the creative development of a technical innovation which has been proposed for publication as a NASA Technical Brief," August 1996
  • Distinguished Contributor, B.F. Goodrich Collegiate Inventors Program, April 1992
  • Hunsaker Teaching Fellowship at M.I.T., awarded 1991
Professional Affiliations
  • American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (associate fellow)
  • ASTM Committee F38 on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (member)
  • NFPA Committee 2400 F38 on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (member)
  • New York Bar Association Aeronautics Committee (adjunct member)
  • Human Factors and Ergonomics Society—HFES (member)
  • Sigma Xi (member)
  • NAFI (member)

Dr. Dershowitz specializes in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. He has expertise in aircraft and spacecraft systems and instrumentation, including unmanned systems (UAVs). 

Dr. Dershowitz studies the interactions of complex systems, including human in the loop systems; airplane and helicopter icing; manned and unmanned space vehicles; cockpit displays; control of vehicles; decision making; safety critical software; software failures; software operation; IP matters; large databases and vehicle and structure fire cause and origin. He models and analyzes ground and flight vehicles, systems, and their accidents, and analyzes and presents high dimensionality and complex data.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Dershowitz worked at Johnson Space Center for United Space Alliance. There, he worked in NASA's Mission Control Center on the motion control system of the International Space Station, designed and researched advanced technology solutions for Mission Control, and served as a member of the orbital debris analysis team for the Shuttle Columbia accident investigation. Dr. Dershowitz has significant teaching experience, both in the classroom and as a certified flight instructor.

Recent Projects