Dr. Benjamin Jorns

Associate Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Benjamin Jorns. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Benjamin Jorns is an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he co-directs the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory, the largest and oldest lab dedicated to in-space propulsion research in the country. He received his B.S. in Physics from Yale in 2007 and both M.A. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton in 2012. Before joining the University of Michigan faculty in 2017, he was a member of the electric propulsion group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2012 to 2016, investigating propulsion systems generation for NASA robotic missions. His primary research interests include wear mechanisms, stability of electric propulsion systems, and turbulence in low-temperature plasmas. He has published over 150 journal articles and conference proceedings in the field and has been recognized with multiple awards for his work in electric propulsion, including the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award and both the AFOSR Young Investigator Program award and the DOE Early Career Award. In addition to his technical contributions, Dr. Jorns is also involved in outreach activities and serves as a faculty advisor for the University of Michigan's AIAA student branch, where he oversees outreach programs that relate to low-temperature plasmas.

Research Interests

Experience

Associate Professor

— Present

University of Michigan • Ann Arbor, MI

Co-director of the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory.

Member

— Present

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory • Pasadena, CA

Investigated propulsion systems for NASA robotic missions.

Lecturer

— Present

University of California, Los Angeles • Los Angeles, CA

Held a lecturer appointment in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department.

Awards

#

Department of Energy Early Career Award

#

Co-director, Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute

#

AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award

#

Air Force Office Scientific Research Young Investigator Program award

#

NASA Team Achievement Award 12.5 kW Hall Thruster Development

#

NASA JPL Voyager Award

#

NASA Group Achievement Award

#

NASA JPL Team Award

#

NASA JPL Discovery Award

#

NASA JPL Mariner Award

#

NASA Graduate Student Researchers Project Fellowship

#

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

#

Sayre Graduate Award Academic Excellence

#

AIAA Orville Wilbur Wright Graduate Award

#

Branford Prize Academic Excellence

Requirements for University of Michigan

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
TOEFL
Total
Required:84
GRE General
Verbal
Required:155
Verbal Percentile
Required:50
Quantitative
Required:168
Quantitative Percentile
Required:50
Analytical Writing
Required:3.6
Writing Percentile
Required:50
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree in engineering, physics, or mathematics Calculus Physics
Application Checklist
  • Rackham Graduate School Application
  • Official Transcripts
  • 3 Letters of Recommendation
  • Academic Statement of Purpose
  • Personal Statement
  • CV/Resume
Specialization Notes

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science