Erwin Moerland

Team Lead Digital Modeling & Integration @ DLR | Digitalization Enthusiast | Advancing Digital Engineering Methods in Aeronautics

Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

About

As engaged aerospace engineer and team lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), I have over ten years of experience in developing and applying innovative digital engineering methods for the collaborative design of future air vehicles. My mission is to shape sustainable solutions for future mobility by enabling multidisciplinary and collaborative engineering across different domains, disciplines, and organizations. Currently, I lead two teams of engineers who focus on advancing digital modeling and integration methods to establish a modern collaborative aircraft design process. For this, we explore novel technologies such as model based system engineering, semantic web technologies, automated geometry generation and machine learning. I am passionate about advancing innovative digital methods enabling teams of engineers to collaboratively develop sustainable solutions for complex engineering problems. I get energized when I can facilitate teams and team members to maximize their capabilities in this pursuit. I am eager to team up and seize opportunities to create impactful sustainable engineering solutions for generations to come!

Experience

  • German Aerospace Center (DLR) (15 yrs)
    • Team Lead Digital Modeling and Integration
      Aug 2017 - Present · 8 yrs 10 mos

      Within the department of aircraft design & system integration of the newly established Institute of System Architectures in Aeronautics, I am the technical lead of two teams of nine engineers. The first team focuses on scientifically advancing digital modeling and integration methods to establish the advanced air vehicle design process of the future. The second team investigates the potential of novel technologies such as semantic web technologies, automated geometry modeling and machine learning to provide further boosts to the digital product design process of the future. I have initiated and contributed to over fifteen national and international research projects advancing digital design methods within both civil and military aeronautics.

    • Project Lead
      Oct 2014 - Jan 2018 · 3 yrs 4 mos

      Coordinated the funding application and upon approval, led an EU project on the development of a collaborative, distributed multi-tier framework for aeronautical and automotive product design. The consortium consisted of 14 partners from 5 EU countries and had a total effort of 65 person-years. At the end of the project, the distributed design of an aircraft concept and a corresponsing vertical tailplane between the involved original equipment manufacturer and two tier-suppliers as well as the design of a car wire harness within a similar setting could be demonstrated. The project formed a significant basis for continued research on the topic of distributed design systems and results are effectively exploited by the industrial partners involved.

    • Technical Team Lead
      Apr 2016 - Jul 2017 · 1 yr 4 mos

      Within the integrated aircraft design department of DLR's establishment of Air Transportation Systems, I have led a team of aerospace engineers focusing on the development of a common parametric language for aircraft design and its application to a modern collaborative conceptual aircraft design process. Under the lead of our team, a multifidelity distributed design simulation workflow for the design of unconventional aircraft has been established - combining the required engineering discipline knowledge spread across eight different DLR departments.

  • Teaching assistant aircraft structural analysis at TU Delft | Aerospace Engineering
    Feb 2010 - Apr 2011 · 1 yr 3 mos

    Revising and modernizing the third-years' advanced course on aircraft structural analysis by supporting the new professsor in creating lecture material and establishing a new approach for students to gain a better understanding of the course material through dedicated team assignments.

  • Technical internship high-lift device design at German Aerospace Center (DLR)
    May 2009 - Oct 2009 · 6 mos

    Full time research on the automation of coupled aerodynamic and structural high-lift device design at the establishment of Air Transportation Systems.

  • TU Delft | Aerospace Engineering (Delft, South Holland, Netherlands)
    • Teaching assistant mechanics course
      Feb 2007 - Dec 2008 · 1 yr 11 mos

      Composing the content of the in-class instruction lectures as part of the mechanics course for first-year students, guiding and providing support to the group of tutors in their lecture preparations

    • Tutor mechanics course
      Sep 2006 - Jul 2008 · 1 yr 11 mos

      Teaching a group of 40 first-year students how to apply the theoretical foundation of the mechanics course to practical structural design excercises, supervision and support in grading of exams

  • Mentor and tutor first-year students at TU Delft | Aerospace Engineering
    Sep 2004 - Mar 2005 · 7 mos

    Guiding first-year students during the start of their study in aerospace engineering, teaching how to cope with their first design project in teams