Dr. Richard Hann

Dr. Richard Hann is a senior researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on the topic of icing on unmanned aerial vehicles. In 2013, he graduated with excellence from the University of Stuttgart in Germany as an aerospace engineer. After working for three years in the petroleum industry as an upstream project engineer, he returned to academia and finished his PhD on icing of unmanned aircraft in 2020. Richard has more than 10 years of experience with numerical and experimental icing aerodynamics on wind turbines and aircraft. Today, he is one of the leading researchers in the emerging research field of icing on unmanned aircraft. Richard is the director of the NTNU UAV Icing Lab with currently 6 PhD students. He also holds a position as lead aerodynamics engineer and shareholder at UBIQ Aerospace – a spin-off company from NTNU. Richard is also promoting the application of drone technology in the Arctic with several ongoing projects in the fields of meteorology, glaciology, and atmospheric pollution in Svalbard. For over a decade, he is living and working in Svalbard, combining his passion science with a love for adventure. Richard’s love for Svalbard extends beyond his research, as he finds happiness in immersing himself in the stunning Arctic landscape – be it on foot, ski, snowmobile, or dog sled. As a science guide, Richard loves to share his expertise, enthusiasm, and deep connection to the Arctic environment with his guests.