William P. Winfree
William P. Winfree (b. 9 March 1951) is an American experimental physicist who is known for his contributions to the field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE). He received his B.A. in 1973 from George Mason University, where he graduated magna cum laude and was awarded the department citation as the outstanding undergraduate in mathematics and physics. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from The College of William and Mary in 1975 and 1978, respectively.
Dr. Winfree is the Head of the Nondestructive Evaluation Science Branch at NASA Langley as well as Adjunct Professor of Applied Science at The College of William and Mary. He currently is researching new applications of thermal wave techniques for the nondestructive evaluation aerospace materials and structures. The heat flow in these systems is investigated using both experimental techniques and computer simulations. Recent work has involved the inversion of thermographic data to characterize subsurface characteristics such as subsurface geometry, porosity, and delamination in laminated structures. These techniques have diverse applications in characterizing bonding in aging aircraft, measuring thermal diffusivity of diamond film, and characterizing the laminar-turbulent transition in air flow over an airfoil.