Colin R. McInnes FRAes FInstP FRSE FREng is a Scottish engineer known for his work in solar sails. He is currently one of the leading figures in the field, being the author (or co-author) of over 50 solar sail papers since 2001. He also wrote a book on the subject, Solar Sailing: Technology, Dynamics and Mission Applications, which is commonly referenced in solar sail journal papers.
Colin McInnes obtained a BSc (Hons) in Physics and Astronomy and PhD in Astrodynamics from the University of Glasgow in 1988 and 1991 respectively. He was then appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Glasgow in October 1991 and was subsequently Reader (1996) and Professor (1999). During this time he has been a visiting researcher at the Central Design Bureau for Unique Instrumentation, Moscow, and the Institute for Space and Astronautical Science, Tokyo. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in September 2004. His research interests centre on trajectory and mission analysis for solar sails, autonomous spacecraft control and space robotics. He is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in July 2003.
He is currently a director of research at the University of Strathclyde.