Dr. Ernesto Benini is a full professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padova, Italy, and head of the "TEMPEST" research group. He obtained a PhD in Energy Science and Engineering (2000) at the University of Padova, Italy. Dr. Benini has more than twenty-five years of experience in the research and development of advanced methods for the design and analysis of high-speed fluid machines, with emphasis on super-hypersonic propulsion and transonic machines. He is a Principal Investigator of numerous private and European research projects, as well as a Scientific Advisor to major international companies in the propulsion sector. Dr. Benini is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and Member of the "Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe", ACARE.

He serves as Chair of AIAA Gas Turbine Engines Technical Committee - Education. He is the author and co-author of more than 350 scientific publications concerning fluid dynamics of machines and has also been granted 12 international patents.