Aerospace engineering professor by day, Latin blues drummer by night — Othon Rediniotis is more than an academic.
Rediniotis, or “Red” as his students call him, is an entrepreneur, inventor, musician and mentor. After graduating with an engineering degree from the National Technical University of Greece in Athens, Red attended Virginia Tech for his master’s and doctorate degrees in experimental aerodynamics. He now works at Texas A&M in the aerospace engineering department.
Over the years, Red has developed and patented technologies. These patents range from measurement instruments that record velocity, temperature and pressure to a jet injector that allows faster and more efficient mixing of fluids.
“I’ve always liked seeing what I create in research hit the market in a short period of time,” Red said. “That has always been what you might say is my drawback. I’m not the type of person to hope whatever you are doing is applicable 30 years from now. I want to see a prototype in the market within five years.”
Red has an active life outside academia as well. He plays drums in a Latin blues band called Roca Azul. The band includes mostly other A&M professors who play cover songs.
Adonis Karpetis, aerospace engineering professor and Red’s colleague and friend, said the band is well known in the department.
Adonis Karpetis, aerospace engineering professor and Red’s colleague and friend, said the band is well known throughout the department.
“I know them all. I really like the band, I like their sound and I think it’s extremely cool. It makes me wish I could play,” Karpetis said. “They have done it all — they’ve done Northgate, and in the past they have played shows all over Latin America.”
Red also has the business skills to accompany his technical abilities. While earning his doctorate, he founded a company called Aeroprobe — a tech company that specializes in aerodynamic data collection and analysis. However Red left his company before beginning his work with A&M in order to avoid any conflict of interest.
Just a few years ago, Red founded another company that relates aerodynamics to the unpredictability of the stock market.
“Believe it or not but I was inspired by the idea of in physics that is turbulence. The idea is that what seems random to the naked eye, is not really random,” Red said. “There are mathematical techniques that extract those behaviors.”
Karpetis said Red is more than just his business savvy.
“He has a very strong entrepreneurial streak, and he is very successful in that,” Karpetis said. “However the more important thing from my understanding is that he is an amazing engineer.
Aside from the academics and the research and papers, he is one of the best engineers I have ever seen, and a good friend.”
