Dr. Patrick Safarian, P.E.
Fatigue and Damage Tolerance Senior Technical Specialist, Finite Element Methods and Composite Material Professor
Since 1997, Dr. Safarian has been involved in ensuring safety of the existing fleet and certification of new airplane models, such as 747-8, 787 and 777-9, 737MAX and A350 at Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). His involvement includes new rulemaking activities, including Parts 25 and 26, plus preparation of the advisory circulars and training material for metallic and composite material structures. Prior to FAA Patrick was employed at the Boeing Company for eleven years as a stress analyst. During that time, he contributed to development of methods and allowables for fatigue and damage tolerance standards for stress engineers. He also performed analytical and computational stress analyses of highly complex structures, including failure analysis in support of airplane design, in-service problems and accident investigations.
Patrick received his BSME from Northrop University in 1983, MSME from California State University, Fullerton, in 1985, and completed his PhD work in Mechanical Engineering at University of California, Davis, in 1987. In June 2004 he completed his Doctorate in Theological studies at Bakke Graduate School. Patrick has taught damage tolerance and advance engineering mathematics courses while at Boeing for over ten years. He has been teaching post-graduate engineering courses in the fields of fatigue, fracture mechanics, finite element analysis and composite material at University of Washington and Central Washington University since 1998. He has been teaching two courses in fatigue and damage tolerance to the industry since 2008. He has also offered the industry courses in finite element methods and applications since 2017. Patrick is married to Annette and they have two children, Natasha and Christopher.
Dr. Safarian interacts constantly with the industry experts in developing and application of the latest simulations tools and provides key guidance to aviation industry in analyzing metallic and composite material structures.
Dr. Francesco Deleo, Ph.D
Affiliate Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington – Seattle WA, and Director of Project Management at TerraPower – Bellevue WA
Dr. Francesco Deleo is an Affiliate Professor in the Aeronautics & Astronautics Department at the University of Washington and an experienced engineer specializing in structural analysis of advanced materials and complex engineering systems.He holds a BS, MS, and PhD in Aerospace Engineering and has more than two decades of experience working with composite structures in both academic and industry settings. His experience with composite materials spans the full spectrum from hands-on work to advanced numerical modeling.
Dr. Deleo’s background includes practical experience with composite manufacturing processes and structural repairs, as well as advanced analytical work involving finite element modeling, composite failure prediction, and dynamic impact analysis. This combination of hands-on and computational expertise provides students with a comprehensive understanding of how composite materials behave in real engineering structures.
For more than a decade, Dr. Deleo has taught engineers and graduate students advanced topics in structural mechanics, including composite materials, fatigue, and finite element modeling. His courses emphasize both the fundamental mechanics of composite materials and their practical engineering applications, helping students understand how theory translates into real structural design decisions.
In addition to his academic work, Dr. Deleo serves as Director of Program Management at TerraPower, where he contributes to the development of advanced nuclear energy systems. His interdisciplinary background across aerospace and energy engineering brings a unique perspective to the study and application of composite structures. Francesco is married to Vanessa since 2024, and they have a beautiful cavapoo called Brunello.