Mark Ricklick

Title
Associate Professor
Email
Department
Aerospace Engineering Department
College
College of Engineering

Areas of Expertise

Gas turbine & propulsion thermal management, electronics cooling, high temperature sensor design, heat transfer & aerodynamics, experimental validation of numerical models
Mark Ricklick

Dr. Mark A. Ricklick is an Associate Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department, since January 2014. He obtained his Doctorate degree and served as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Central Florida. From 2012 until 2013 he supported companies in the Turbomachinery, Automotive, Aerospace, and Agricultural industries with CAE investigations as an Applications Engineer.  His research interests lie in the area of propulsion heat transfer and thermal management. 

Dr. Ricklick is author/co-author on over 85 conference papers, 19 journal articles, several patents, and invited presentations, with current citations exceeding 590 (h-index 14). His work addresses critical thermal management challenges that directly impact propulsion efficiency, high-speed vehicles, and future energy systems, while training the next generation of engineers who will carry these advances into practice

  • Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida
  • CEAE 597: Coop Ed Aerospace Engineering
  • CEAE 596: Coop Ed Aerospace Engineering
  • AE 800: Dissertation
  • AE 440: Jet Propulsion Detail Design
  • AE 435: Jet Propulsion Preliminary Des
  • AE 700: Thesis

AE435 - Jet Propulsion Preliminary Design

AE440 - Jet Propulsion Detail Design

AE508 - Intermediate Heat Transfer

AE507 - Design, Build, Test

AE201 - Aerospace Flight Vehicles

AE301 - Aerodynamics 1

AE403 - Jet Propulsion

Invited Presentations:

[1] Ricklick, M., “Heat Transfer and Thermal Management of Hybrid Electric Propulsion Systems,” ERAU – NASA Hybrid Electric Aviation Course, Nov. 2020, Daytona Beach, FL.
[2] Ricklick, M., “Keeping Cool: Heat Transfer Technologies in Gas Turbines for Aviation and Power Generation,” Daytona State College STEM Seminar Series, Dec. 2018, Daytona Beach, FL.
[3] Ricklick, M., Poinsatte, P., Thurman, D., “Implication of CMC Surface Features on Gas Turbine Cooling Methodologies,” NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship Seminar, Aug. 2015, Cleveland, OH.
[4] Ricklick, M., “Benchmarking Heat Transfer Simulations against Experimental Results: Pin-Fin Channel,” CD-adapco’s STAR-CCM+ Workshop on Flow and Thermal Simulation and Optimization. Mar. 2014, West Palm Beach, FL.
[5] Ricklick, M., “Turbulence Modeling with STAR-CCM+,” CD-adapco’s Global User Conference, Mar. 2013, Orlando, FL.
[6] Ricklick, M., “Combustion Simulations in STAR-CCM+,” CD-adapco’s Orlando Open House, Jan. 2013, Orlando, FL.
[7] Ricklick, M., “STAR-CCM+ at UCF,” CD-adapco’s 2011 Star CCM+ Workshop, Dec. 4, 2011, West Palm Beach, FL.
[8] Ricklick, M., Kapat, J., VandenBreckel, N., Lixiong, L., “Scalability and Cost of Algae-Derived Jet Fuel,” Invited Alternative Fuel Manufacturing and Testing Oral Presentation at 47th AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference, Aug. 2011, San Diego, CA.

Recent Journal Publications:

[1] Lopes, N.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., Chao, Y.*, “Inlet Condition Effects on sCO2 Thermal Behavior in Water-Cooled Heat Exchangers,” Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, July 2025, doi: 10.2514/1.T7211.
[2] Lopes, N.*, Darsala, V.*, Chao, Y.*, Shekhar, P., Boetcher, S., Ricklick, M., “Comparison of Predictive Tools for Supercritical CO2 Horizontal Cooling and the Impact of Artifical Neural Network Input-Output Parameter Selection,” Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 263, No. 15, March 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.125360.
[3] Lopes, N.*, Chao, Y.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., “Influence of Thermal Boundary Conditions on Local Supercritical CO2 Cooling Heat Transfer: A Case Study,” International
Mark Ricklick, Ph.D. 10/2025
Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 106, doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2024.109310. Citations: 12.
[4] Chao, Y.*, Lopes, N.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., “Impact of Adiabatic Entrance Length on Numerical Simulations of Supercritical CO2 Heat Transfer in Horizontal Circular Tubes,” Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A: Applications, pg. 1-27, doi: 10.1080/10407782.2023.2287534. Citations: 8.
[5] Lopes, N.*, Chao, Y.*, Dasarla, V.*, Sullivan, N., Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., “Comprehensive Review of Supercritical CO2 Correlations for Straight Tubes: A Historical Prspective,” Journal of Heat Transfer, HT-22-1264, Dec. 2022, Vol. 144, No. 12, doi: 10.1115/1.4055345. Citations: 17.
[6] Otto, M., Kapat, J., Ricklick, M., Mhetras, S., “Heat Transfer in a Rib Turbulated Pin Fin Array for Trailing Edge Cooling,” Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications, Apr. 2022, Vol. 14, No. 4, doi: 10.1115/1.4051766. Citations: 25.
[7] Chao, Y.*, Lopes, N.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., “Effect of the Heat Transfer Coefficient Reference Temperatures on Validating Numerical Models of Supercritical CO2,” Journal of Verification, Validation and Uncertainty Quantification, Dec. 2021, Vol. 6, No. 4, doi: 10.1115/1.4051637. Citations: 13.
[8] Sullivan, N.*, Chao, Y.*, Boetcher, S., Ricklick, M., “Impact of Uncertainty on Prediction of Supercritical CO2 Properties and Nusselt Numbers,” Journal of Heat Transfer, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1115/1.4051856. Citations: 9.
[9] Pai, Y.*, Prasad, A.*, Fernandes, R.*, Fernandes, S.*, Ricklick, M., “Extended Surface Heat Transfer Coefficients via Endwall Temperature Measurements,” Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Sep. 2019, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 101-108, doi: 10.2514/1.T5750. Citations: 8.
[10] Fernandes, R.*, Ricklick, M., “Benchmarking of RANS Turbulence Models in an Internal Pin Fin Channel,” Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, May 2017, doi: 10.2514/1.T5046. Citations: 14.


Recent Conference Proceedings:

[1] Clay, A.*, Ricklick, M., Hardy, D.*, “Heat Transfer to Arrays of Oscillating Impingement Jets,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-2445, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-2445
[2] Lopes, N.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., Janus, B., Behrendt, T., Becker, R., “Numerical Investigation of Gas Turbine Combustor Cooling Performance with Bezier Effusion Holes,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-2503, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-2503.
[3] Lopes, N.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., Chao, Y., “Impact of Inlet Conditions on Local sCO2 Cooling Heat Exchanger Performance,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-2846, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-2846.
[4] Kovachev, M.*, Sexsmith, C.*, Ricklick, M., “Heat Transfer in Tightly Packed Cylinder Arrays for Various Fluids,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-1472, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-1472.
[5] Hardy, D.*, Perito, D.*, Duke, A.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., “Effect of Mass Flux and Heat Flux on Supercritical CO2 under High Heat and Mass Flux Conditions,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-2845, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-2845.
[6] Sanjuan, P.*, Ricklick, M., “Analysis of the Effects of Axial Thermal Gradients on a Self-Regulated SMA Torsional Thermal Management Actuator using an Experimental-Based Model,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-2842, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-2842.
[7] Chao, Y.*, Lopes, N.*, Boetcher, S., Ricklick, M., “Analysis of Thermal Entrance Length in Turbulent Supercritical CO2 Flow Through a Horizontal Circular Tube,” AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum, AIAA 2025-2844, Jan. 2025. doi: 10.2514/6.2025-2844.
[8] Kovachev, M.*, Sexsmith, C.*, Ricklick, M., “Heat Transfer in Tightly Packed Cylinder Arrays,” ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE2024-141909, Nov. 2024. doi: 10.1115/IMECE2024-141909.
[9] Hardy, D.*, Ricklick, M., Boetcher, S., “Simulation of Supercritical Fluids with Reduced Domains in Horizontal Flows,” ASME Heat Transfer Summer Conference, HT2024-131404, Jul. 2024. doi: 10.1115/HT2024-131404.
[10] Velasco D.*, Sauerbrun, J.*, Lopes, N.*, Chao, Y.*, Boetcher, S., Ricklick, M., “Characterization of a sCO2 Heat Exchanger Flow Loop,” AIAA SCITECH 2024 Forum, AIAA 2024-2294, Jan. 2024. doi: 10.2514/6.2024-2294.


Patents:

[1] Spitzer, D., Ricklick, M., Anderson, R., Bartsch, E., “System and Methods for Stabilization of DC Bus Voltage in a Hybrid-Electric Aircraft,” US20250091723A1, Mar. 2025, pending.
[2] Spitzer, D., Ricklick, M., Anderson, R., Bartsch, E., “Split Turbocharger Having Independent Electric Turbine and Electric Compressor Components,” US20240337213A1, Verdego Aero Inc., Oct. 2024.
[3] Anderson, R., Spitzer, D., Ricklick, M., Cassels, A., Bartsch, E., “Simultaneous Air Cooling of Multiple Elements of a Hybrid Powerplant,” US20240002066A1, Verdego Aero Inc., Jan. 2024.


Senior Member: AIAA Gas Turbine Engines Technical Committee
[1] Aerospace Engineering Graduate Teaching Award, AY 23-24.
[2] CTLE Small Teaching Challenge Award – most responses, Fa. 22.
[3] College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award, AY18-19.
[4] Aerospace Engineering Graduate Teaching Award, AY18-19.
[5] Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award, AY17-18.