COL James Bluman, Ph.D., PE

Colonel James “Jamie” Bluman currently serves as the Associate Dean for Research at the United States Military Academy at West Point.  In this role, he is the Director of the Office of Research and leads the research enterprise across 13 academic departments and 28 research centers and institutes.  Colonel Bluman also serves as the Co-Director of the West Point Werx Innovation Hub, a synchronization and integration body that drives strategic partnerships and engagement for the Academy to leverage West Point’s intellectual capital against problems facing the Army and Nation.

Colonel Bluman has taught in the Mechanical Engineering Program at West Point for 7 years and 5 years in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.  He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering (USMA, 1999), an M.S. in aerospace engineering from Penn State (2008), and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (2017).   His personal research interests are focused on robotics, drone autonomy, flapping wing micro-air vehicles, and small unmanned aerial systems.  Colonel Bluman’s research is published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and refereed conference proceedings. 

Colonel Bluman is a Senior Army Aviator and holds ratings in the OH-58D helicopter and the C-12 fixed wing aircraft as well as FAA commercial, instrument, and rotorcraft ratings.   He earned a Professional Engineer license from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and he is a recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering’s Donald N. Zwiep Award for Innovation in Education as well as USMA’s 2024 Dean’s Mid-Career Award for Scholarship Excellence. 

Colonel Bluman’s previous assignments and positions include serving as the Director for the Center for Innovation and Engineering and an associate professor in Civil and Mechanical Engineering.  Prior to joining the USMA faculty, Colonel Bluman served in the operational Army as an Aviation Officer and as an Acquisition Corps officer, with a Level III DAWIA certification in Program Management.  He served an Assistant Product Manager for the Armed Scout Helicopter Project Office, and various command, staff, and platoon leader positions as an Army Aviator.