Stephen Wilkerson, Ph.D., P.E., MD
Meet Stephen Wilkerson
Stephen Wilkerson received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1990. He spent 33 years at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, dedicating the last 15 years of his career to advancing robotic and drone systems. Before retiring in 2016, he served as an exchange scientist in Germany and was a full-time faculty member at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point for three years. Additionally, he has held adjunct faculty positions at Howard Community College, Towson University, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
Dr. Wilkerson is currently an Associate Professor at York College of Pennsylvania, where his research focuses on drone technologies for agricultural applications. He is actively developing AI-driven solutions to enhance drone operations and improve multispectral analysis of farm fields.
Beyond his research, he is deeply committed to STEM education and outreach, working to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists.
- Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
- Structural Engineering, M.S., George Washington University
- Mechanical Engineering, B.S., Johns Hopkins University
- EGR150: Computational Methods in Engineering
- ME252: Engineering Dynamics and Vibrations
- EGR392: Automated Controls
- ME400/402: Capstone Design
- ME430: Applied Energy Systems ME430
The goal of the Drone Capstone Project is to research how to reduce the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals that farmers use in the York County area. To that end, researchers at York College will design and build drone systems that use multispectral analysis to survey crops in the York Codorus watershed area. Drone system that include fixed wing and multirotor are among the designs that students can chose from. The project involves, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, Solid Works, Micro Electronics, Programming, Control Theory, Planning, Photography, Analysis and a lot more. Upon completion students will provide the data they obtain to farmers free of charge. The research outcome will enable the farmers to better understand their crops and problems using state of the art technologies. The project has a number of potential benefits to include: reducing farmer run off into the York Codorus watershed area water system, reduced run off into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, educational research benefits for York College and potential new business areas for the greater York surroundings. The current focus of the project will be on corn soybean and other farm products in the greater York area.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. " Using Arduino Microprocessors in a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum " 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2024.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. "An Independent Study Course for a Multi-Rotor Design and an Endurance Record" 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2024.
- A. S. Lee, S. A. Gadsden, S. A. Wilkerson, and M. Al-Shabi, An Adaptive Formulation of the Smooth Variable Structure Filter based on Static Multiple Models, International Journal of Robotics and Automation, 2022. In Press. [1.250]
- J. Kim, C. Eggleton, S. A. Wilkerson, and S. A. Gadsden, Cooperative Sensor-based Selective Graph Exploration Strategy for a Team of Quadrotors, Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, Vol. 103, 2021. [2.520]
- S. A. Gadsden, S. A. Wilkerson, and M. Al-Shabi, Fault Detection of a Mechatronic System using Interacting Multiple Operating Modes, 2021 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering International Congress, Charlottetown, PEI, 2021.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. " Using Arduino Microprocessors in a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum " 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2024.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. "An Independent Study Course for a Multi-Rotor Design and an Endurance Record" 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2024.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. "Workshop Combining Arduino and MATLAB for Controls Experiments" 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2024.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. " Developing Experiments to Teach Control Theory, " 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2023.
- Wilkerson, Stephen, et.al. " Additive Manufacturing used in Community Based Service Projects for the Handicapped, " 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2023.
- 2020 IEEE Senior Member
- 2015 Certificate of Appreciation Governor’s Volunteer Service Award
- Oct 2014 Achievement Metal for Civilian Service
- May 2012 Commanders Civilian Service Metal
- Apr 2007 Certificate of Appreciation Governor’s Volunteer Service Award
- Women in Engineering Summer Workshop 2020
- Drone Equipment Grant USMA 2019 Change Detection
- Drone Equipment Grant (Scholar Farms) 2019
- UAS for the purposes of multispectral analysis of York Pennsylvania area farms. (York County Community Foundation April 20, 2018)
- Drones used in STEM Education
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE Senior Member
- The American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME
- President York Astronomical Society YCAS
- Vice President Harford Radio Controlled Modelers HCRCM
- Serving on the Promotion and Tenure Senate Committee
- STEM Summer workshops have been run 2017-present for local York female and minority students
- STEM workshops have been run 2018-present for Dallastown Middle and High Schools throughout the year.
- Outreach activities at local York county schools, York Library to include robotics, Arduino programming, and 3D printing (~15 events and two summer workshop in past 2 years).