AIAA Announcements AIAA Announces Its Class of 2020 Fellows and Honorary Fellows

AIAA has selected its Class of 2020 AIAA Fellows and Honorary Fellows. The new Fellows and Honorary Fellows will be inducted on 19 May and then recognized on 20 May at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

Honorary Fellow is the highest distinction conferred by AIAA and recognizes preeminent individuals who have had long and highly contributory careers in aerospace and who embody the highest possible standards in aeronautics and astronautics. The 2020 Honorary Fellows are:

Robert D. Briskman, Telecommunications Engineering Consultants
Wesley G. Bush, Northrop Grumman Corporation (retired)
Jason L. Speyer, University of California, Los Angeles

AIAA confers the distinction of Fellow upon individuals in recognition of their notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics. The 2020 Fellows are:

Holger Babinsky, University of Cambridge
John S. Baras, University of Maryland
Rodney D. W. Bowersox, Texas A&M University
Russell R. Boyce, University of New South Wales
Salvatore “Tory” Bruno, United Launch Alliance
Mark Campbell, Cornell University
Campbell D. Carter, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
Walter Engelund, NASA Headquarters
Hermann F. Fasel, University of Arizona
Hector Fenech, Eutelsat SA
Farhan Gandhi, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Michael Gazarik, Ball Aerospace
Stanley Gustafson, Lockheed Martin Space
Steven J. Isakowitz, The Aerospace Corporation
Christopher T. Jones, Northrop Grumman Corporation (retired)
David Klaus, University of Colorado Boulder
Christophe Laux, Laboratoire EM2C – CNRS
Joaquim R.R.A. Martins, University of Michigan
Beverley J. McKeon, California Institute of Technology
Daniel Mooney, Boeing Global Services
Scott A. Morton, U.S. Department of Defense
Nelson Pedreiro, Lockheed Martin Space
Christopher Pestak, Universities Space Research Association
Amy Pritchett, Pennsylvania State University
Dhanireddy R. Reddy, NASA Glenn Research Center
Donald O. Rockwell, Lehigh University
Suzanne Weaver Smith, University of Kentucky
Edgar G. Waggoner, NASA Headquarters
Michael M. Watkins, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

In 1933, Orville Wright became AIAA’s first Honorary Fellow. Today, AIAA Honorary Fellows and AIAA Fellows are the most respected names in the aerospace industry. For more information on AIAA’s Honors Program, or the AIAA Honorary Fellows or Fellows Program, please contact Patricia A. Carr at 703.264.7523 or patriciac@aiaa.org.

AIAA Announcements 2020 AIAA Election Results

AIAA is pleased to announce the results of its 2020 election of Chief, Regional Engagement Activities Division (READ) and Chief, Technical Activities Division (TAD). The Chief, READ, was elected by the regional directors. The Chief, TAD, was elected by the technical group directors and the division committees.

Regional Engagement Activities Division
Daniel T. Jensen, Rolls-Royce Corporation

Technical Activities Division
Jeffrey W. Hamstra, Lockheed Martin Corporation

The newly elected will begin their terms of office in May 2020.

Student Conferences 2020 International Student Conference Winners Announced

Winners of the 2020 International Student Conference. Credit: AIAA

The AIAA International Student Conference took place on 6 January in conjunction with AIAA SciTech Forum. Students who won first place at one of the 2019 AIAA Regional Student Conferences presented their papers at this professional technical conference, which offers students a chance to showcase their research at an event where they can also network with potential employers and colleagues. The winners were announced at an awards breakfast on 7 January.

Undergraduate Category
Collin O’Neill, Ohio State University, “Active Flow Control in a Compact High-Speed Inlet/Diffuser Model”

Master’s Category
Stephanie Cottier and Christopher Combs, University of Texas at San Antonio, “Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Analysis of Shockwave/Boundary Layer Interactions”

Team Category
Kunal Gangolli, Athreya Gundamraj, Wyatt Hoppa, and Shrivathsav Seshan, Georgia Institute of Technology, “Implementation and Verification of a Versatile GN&C and Flight Software Architecture for an Active Control Launch System”

Dates for the 2020 Regional Student Conferences can be found on the Calendar (pp 48–49). For more information about the student conferences, contact Michael Lagana at michaell@aiaa.org or 703.264.7503.

Thank you to Lockheed Martin Corporation for sponsoring the 2020 conference.

AIAA Student Programs AIAA Diversity Scholars

AIAA Diversity Scholars and Aurora Flight Sciences representatives at AIAA SciTech Forum. Credit: AIAA

Fifteen AIAA Diversity Scholars attended AIAA SciTech Forum, 6–10 January 2020. The AIAA Diversity Scholarship aims to directly combat underrepresentation in the industry by providing students from underrepresented groups the opportunity to attend AIAA forums and receive additional targeted programming that may help them succeed in the aerospace industry.

This program is a collaboration of the AIAA Foundation and the sponsor Aurora Flight Sciences. Scholars, seen above with Aurora Flight Sciences representatives, attended the plenary, Forum 360, and technical sessions, as well as the Rising Leaders in Aerospace events and other special sessions geared specifically for the scholars. 

Diversity scholarships will be offered for select AIAA forums throughout the year. The scholarship welcomes applications from students in all disciplines with an interest in aerospace, including but not limited to STEM fields, communications, law, industrial design, journalism, and political science. Please visit aiaa.org/Diversity-and-Inclusion for more information.

AIAA Associate Fellows AIAA Associate Fellows Inducted

Class of 2020 AIAA Associate Fellows. Credit: AIAA

The Class of 2020 AIAA Associate Fellows were inducted at the AIAA Associate Fellows Induction Ceremony and Reception on 6 January at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in conjunction with AIAA SciTech Forum.

Making an Impact: AIAA and Blue Origin Partner to Launch Experiments Designed by High School Students into Space

Credit: Blue Origin

AIAA and Blue Origin have partnered to create Design/Build/Launch (DBL), a new competition designed to launch experimental payloads to study the effects of short-duration microgravity.

AIAA and Blue Origin invite high school students to develop creative research proposals in the fields of microgravity science or space technology and pair the experiment with a public outreach plan to share the excitement of space with others. The top proposal will be launched on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and receive a $1,000 grant to prepare and develop the experiment for flight.

“There’s no better way to learn than by doing,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “These students have an amazing opportunity to contribute to space research while learning how transformative aerospace can be.”

AIAA and Blue Origin representatives will judge the submitted proposals on the basis of scientific/technical merit, outreach creativity, and feasibility. The winning payload is expected to fly on New Shepard in 2021. Postflight, the students will be recognized and have the opportunity to deliver their final report at ASCEND, an AIAA event dedicated to the space economy.

“Blue Origin is passionate about the future of living and working in space. Through payloads on our reusable New Shepard vehicle and our non-profit, Club for the Future, we are inspiring students to pursue careers in STEM and inviting them to visualize their own possibilities in space,” said Dr. Erika Wagner, payload sales director for Blue Origin. 

Timeline:
Proposals Due: 3 April 2020

Announcement of Winning Team: 22 May 2020

Experiment Flies: 2021

Final Report Presentation at ASCEND: November 2021

Who can enter?
All active high school students, between 9th and 12th grade (or equivalent homeschooling levels) at the time of their submission. Multiple students may collaborate on a single proposal, and a lead faculty advisor must be named to receive the payload development award. The competition is open to both U.S. and international students. Please see aiaa.org/dbl for more information.

For more information about how you can get involved with AIAA’s educational activities, please contact Merrie Scott, at MerrieS@aiaa.org.

Public Policy 2020 AIAA Key Issues and Recommendations

The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry is critical to our nation’s well-being, providing major contributions to education, our economic prosperity, our national defense and homeland security, and our quality of life. A&D professionals are conducting research and working on initiatives that will soon return American astronauts to the moon and then on to Mars, growing a commercial space economy, integrating UAS more effectively into the national airspace, developing new supersonic aircraft, and modernizing our hypersonic capabilities among many other critical endeavors. There is much to be excited about and it is imperative for government, industry, and academia to continue working together to imagine and create capabilities that transform our society.

According to the Aerospace Industries Association, in 2018 the A&D sector:
• Received $105.9 billion from the federal government for research and development
• Supported more than 2.5 million jobs (881,575 directly employed, 1.67 million in the supply chain), representing nearly 20 percent of the nation’s manufacturing workforce
• Generated nearly $929 billion in economic output, of which $459 billion is attributed to the industry’s supply chain
• Created $348.3 billion in value-added goods and services, contributing $324 billion to the U.S. GDP
• Paid out $237 billion in wages and benefits, with an average wage of $92,742
• Exported $151 billion in goods, with a positive trade balance of $89.5 billion (reducing the U.S. trade deficit by 10 percent)

AIAA, the world’s largest aerospace technical society, urges lawmakers to enact and sustain policies that will enhance a robust and world-leading A&D sector. We strongly believe the accompanying key issues and associated actionable recommendations are crucial to the continued health of our industry, as well as the continued competitiveness, security, and growth of our nation.

As we strive to represent our nearly 30,000 individual members, 95 corporate members, and the broader aerospace community, we welcome and encourage feedback—our objective motive is to strengthen the profession and serve as a valued resource for decision makers.

Funding Stability and Competitiveness

The A&D industry has experienced growth in recent years because of a strong commercial market and increased government spending; however, major challenges exist because of mounting budget deficits, trade policy uncertainties, a lengthy acquisitions process, and foreign competitors investing heavily in military modernization, commercial development, and scientific research. The current unpredictable fiscal environment creates short-term perspectives, which increase the risk of the delay of new aerospace initiatives and the curtailment or termination of important programs. The technologies and products developed for A&D applications have been at the heart of the American technology boom driving significant improvements to economic growth and quality of life. A return to a regular appropriations process – last accomplished in the late 1990s – coupled with a long-term perspective is needed immediately so that the nation can best plan for and execute initiatives critical to a secure and economically robust future.

Recommendations:
• Provide sustained investment for foundational and applied research in federal laboratories and universities at levels consistent with maximizing economic growth and technological leadership – this early investment is necessary to deliver new technologies within 5–10 years.1
• Provide the DOD with stable and predictable funding that supports efficient and effective multi-year acquisitions and operations.
• Streamline the certification and defense acquisition processes by tailoring oversight requirements to risk.2,3,4,5
• Provide long-term authorizations and appropriations to fund all NASA directorates properly in a balanced and predictable manner to meet short- and long-term program and mission requirements.
• Accelerate the establishment of policies for advancing the development and integration of new aerospace technologies into society, such as drones and supersonic aircraft.2,6
• Expand support for small businesses to foster technical innovation and facilitate the transition of those new products up the supply chain to support civil and military capabilities.
• Continue to review and roll back restrictive export controls that hinder U.S. A&D global competitiveness.

R&D and Innovation

Since the dawn of aviation and through the advent of the space age, the United States has been the world leader in aerospace technologies. The federal government has played an important role in supporting research and development (R&D) efforts by academia, industry, and government labs leading to a myriad of scientific discoveries and innovations.1 While there has been a recent uptick in federal funding for R&D and the United States still represents nearly half of global aerospace R&D spending, our foreign competitors continue to invest significantly in technologies critical to aerospace and defense. Sufficient and sustained R&D investments are therefore crucial to maintain our preeminence in this sector and to create more high-paying jobs.

Recommendations:
• Support robust, long-term federal civil aeronautics and space research and technology initiatives1 funded at a level that will ensure U.S. leadership.
• Invest in computational modeling and simulation technologies, as well as experimental ground and flight-testing capabilities, to advance basic and applied research and development of new military and commercial products.
• Ensure sufficient and stable funding for federal programs in critical areas to accelerate innovation and technology transition to operational applications.
• Create programs that enable greater interaction and cooperative arrangements between federal research laboratories, academia, and industry to foster innovation and growth.
• Offer incentives for research by large corporations and small businesses including the commercialization of that research into new products and services.
• Streamline the government A&D product development process by tailoring risk acceptance to better align with timeliness and lifecycle cost management.
• Ensure that federal agency R&D budgets provide sufficient funding to maintain long-term U.S. technical leadership in critical areas such as autonomy, hypersonics4, and space.
• Re-energize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program with adequate funding and adequate government resources to execute the Commercialization • Readiness Program, emphasizing new initiatives that address barriers in bringing SBIR/STTR technologies to the marketplace.

Workforce Development and Enhancement

The U.S. A&D sector enjoys a prominent position in terms of global competitiveness and technical superiority; however, the sector faces a skills gap that will threaten our future standing in the world. A large percentage of the workforce is or will soon be eligible for retirement. While demand for highly skilled workers has reached levels not seen since the 1960s, the A&D industry faces a number of significant hiring and retention challenges: achieving greater workforce participation by women and ethnic minorities, retaining qualified and trained personnel facing recruitment by other industries, processing background checks without long delays for classified work7, and hiring well-qualified international workers without impediment. Federal and state policies can enable significant progress in addressing each of these challenges.

Jobs today are heavily reliant on technology, yet our education system is largely not preparing students to be STEM-literate and adaptable to rapidly changing technologies.8 Additionally, many schools are underfunded, teachers receive inadequate support, and there is an absence of direct mentoring. These factors have helped create a national workforce crisis. Industry leaders and policymakers alike must tackle this crisis sooner rather than later to address the forecasted demand for skilled technical workforce.8

Recommendations:
• Pass legislation, such as the Higher Education Act, that enhances the pipeline of STEM-competent workers into the U.S. economy, including initiatives aimed at underrepresented communities.8
• Promote educational and training programs for both the existing workforce and new entrants, as well as encourage the recruitment and professional development of K-12 STEM teachers through federal incentives and grants.8
• Support programs that specifically focus on technical jobs, improve the pipeline from high schools, and provide grants for these activities.
• Incentivize industry and the military to engage directly with recruiting military personnel transitioning to the civilian workforce such as creating a standard to process and categorize military skill sets.
• Pass visa legislation that welcomes and retains highly educated international professionals who earn advanced STEM degrees from U.S. colleges and universities.
• Reform the security review process to streamline investigations, prioritize mission critical investigations, increase oversight, and promote reciprocity among agencies while protecting sensitive information and utilizing advanced technology to manage risk appropriately.7

ENDNOTES
1 Aeronautics R&D: A Key to Economic Prosperity (2018)
2 UAS: Expanding Transportation and Driving Growth (2018)
3 FAA NextGen: Modernizing Our Nation’s Skies (2018)
4 Hypersonics: A Game-Changing Technology (2018)
5 Aircraft Certification: Accelerating Innovation in Civil Aviation (2018)
6 Supersonic Flight Over Land: High-Speed Flight for the 21st Century (2018)
7 Security Clearance Reform: Reducing Backlogs to Meet Government Needs (2019)
8 STEM Pipeline (2019)

Papers can be found at: aiaa.org/advocacy/Policy-Papers/Information-Papers

Publications News Smits Honored with Awards

Alexander Smits. Credit: Smits

Alexander Smits, Eugene Higgins Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Emeritus at Princeton University, was honored with two awards for his work. He won the 2019 APS Fluid Dynamics Prize, which recognizes and encourages outstanding achievement in fluid dynamics research. The prize includes a $10,000 prize and Dr. Smits was honored “For transformative contributions to the measuring and understanding of wall turbulence in extreme Reynolds and Mach number regimes, for pioneering research on bio-inspired propulsion, and in recognition of exemplary technical leadership, mentoring, and community service.”

Dr. Smits was also awarded the G K Batchelor Prize for 2020. Sponsored by the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, the prize is awarded every four years at the International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. 

The prize is given for Professor Smits’ “seminal contributions to our understanding of the structure of wall turbulence at very large Reynolds and Mach numbers, especially through the design of innovative experiments and measurement devices, and also for pioneering work on bio-inspired propulsion and on drag reduction using modified surfaces. Some of his most influential contributions are concerned with the behavior and scaling of wall turbulence at extreme conditions, most notably its asymptotic behavior at high Reynolds numbers, as well as its response to perturbations, especially shock waves, and to changes in Mach number. He has also inspired interest in biomimetic flows, including propulsion, energy harvesting and vortex dynamics, often with the practical objective of improving the efficiency of fluid-based systems.” 

Dr. Smits is the Editor-in-Chief of the AIAA Journal. Among his other honors, he has also been recognized with the 2004 AIAA Fluid Dynamics Award, the 2014 AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, and the 2014 AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement Technology Award.

Publications News Givi to Give Elsevier Distinguished Lecture in Mechanics

Peyman Givi. Credit: Givi

Peyman Givi, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the James T. Mac-Leod Professor in the Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, has been invited to give the upcoming 13th Elsevier Distinguished Lecture in Mechanics on “Quantum Information and Deep Learning for Turbulent Combustion Modeling & Simulation.” Dr. Givi is an AIAA Fellow and the deputy editor of AIAA Journal.

The lecture will take place on 2 April 2020 at the University of Pittsburgh. For further information, contact Meagan Lenz (MEL171@pitt.edu).

AIAA Senior Member Smith Died in April 2018

Fred Smith. Credit: Smith

Lawrence “Fred” Smith died in April 2018.

Smith served as a flight engineer and gunner on a B17 doing bombing runs over Germany and Russia in World War II. After the war he worked on his Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering at the Spartan School of Aeronautics. He served as a flight engineer again in Korea before he was assigned to Tinker AFB. While at Tinker, he worked on his Master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, and was an associate professor.

Smith worked for the U.S. government as an engineer until 1985 when he retired and then went to work for Boeing in Oklahoma City. After almost 10 years he retired from Boeing.

Obituary AIAA Fellow Michael Holden Died in December 2019

Michael Holden. Credit: Holden

Michael S. Holden, Vice President of the Aeronautics Sector at CUBRC in Buffalo, NY, was internationally recognized principally for his extensive research in supersonic and hypersonic flows. Dr. Holden served in many capacities for AIAA and published over 125 papers through AIAA conference proceedings and journal articles.

Dr. Holden obtained his Ph.D. from Imperial College for experimental research and analysis associated with shock wave/boundary layer interaction and separated regions in the hypersonic flow regime. In 1964, this work continued with the 48-inch and 96-inch shock tunnels at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, and culminated with the Large Energy National Shock-tunnels (LENS) I, II, and XX, which he conceptualized, and oversaw construction and operational systemization of those new major ground test facilities at CUBRC.

His work contributed greatly to the design and development of U.S. ballistic and scramjet powered weapon systems, space capsules, and the Space Shuttle and space planes. Through his work on AIAA technical committees, conference panels, and as a distinguished lecturer, Dr. Holden provided the industry with a unique level of leadership.

Although his professional work was in the area of high-speed flow, he was equally recognized for his pioneering work in training winter Olympic teams in low-speed wind tunnels. As an avid skier himself, he advocated allowing the Olympic athletes to train in the Calspan facilities after attending the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Each year, he donated his time to train downhill racers, then ski jumpers, and bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge teams. This work was then expanded to include the Paralympic athletes. Many of the medalists and their coaches attributed their success to the training they received from Dr. Holden.

Dr. Holden was featured in many national magazines from Popular Mechanics to Sports Illustrated for the innovative training that he initiated. He developed special test equipment and data analysis, and invented fixtures to suspend the athletes in the tunnel. In addition to refining stance and movement, his work resulted in the development and refinement of equipment and clothing. WIRED magazine referred to Dr. Holden as “Team USA’s Physicist.”

In 2011 Dr. Holden was recognized with the AIAA Ground Testing Award for unique contributions in the development and construction of hypervelocity ground test facilities and their application to experimental research over a wide range of problems in hypersonic flow. He was also involved with the AIAA Fluid Dynamics TC and the HyTASP Program Committee.

Obituary AIAA Fellow Glassman Died in December 2019

Irvin Glassman died on 14 December. He was 96. Professor Glassman was the Robert H. Goddard Professor (Emeritus) of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University. He retired from Princeton in 1999 after 49 years on the faculty.

Professor Glassman served as a research scientist in the U.S. Army during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1945. He received his Bachelor’s of Engineering (1943) and Doctorate of Engineering (1950) from Johns Hopkins University.

He was considered one of the world’s leading authorities on combustion as applied to problems in energy production, pollution, propulsion, and fire safety. In 1972, Professor Glassman founded Princeton University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. He was editor and founder of the journal Combustion Science and Technology and published more than 250 articles as well as two major books, including Combustion, considered the leading book in his field. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996, received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Princeton University in 2009.

In 2018 Professor Glassman was awarded the Daniel Guggenheim Medal, which honors innovators who make notable achievements to aeronautics, for his contributions to the fields of combustion and propulsion. Among his other honors, he was also awarded the 1998 AIAA Propellants & Combustion Award.

Obituary AIAA Associate Fellow Walker Died in January 2020

Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) Executive Director Dr. David Walker died on 8 January 2020.

Dr. Walker earned his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Over the course of his career, he flew 65 different types of aircraft and accumulated over 2,700 flying hours. A Distinguished Graduate of USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA, he served as an Experimental Test Navigator and an Experimental Test Weapons System Officer for the F-15E.

Following his graduation from Air Command and Staff College, he earned his Ph.D. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB. He returned to Edwards, where he first served as the Chief of Instructor Training and Curriculum Development at the Test Pilot School and later became the school’s Deputy Commandant. After graduating from Air War College, he served as Deputy Chief of the Common Systems Division and the Chief of the Agile Combat Support Division in the Directorate of Global Power Programs at the Pentagon. Returning to Wright-Patterson as a Colonel, he served as the Director of Air Vehicles at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

He then moved back to Edwards, where he commanded the Operations Group of the 412th Test Wing of the USAF Flight Test Center. His final assignment in his active duty career took him back to AFRL in Wright-Patterson, where he served as the Vice Commander. Upon his retirement in 2006, he entered the Senior Executive Service (SES) and became the Director of Materials and Manufacturing at AFRL. He returned to the Pentagon, where he worked as the Associate Director of Programs in Plans and Programs, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Integration, and finally as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology and Engineering. His last assignment as an SES was as the Research and Development Portfolio Director in the Office of Naval Research.

With his long history with aerospace technology and innovation, he became the Executive Director of the Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) in Dayton, OH, in June 2019. He was passionate about what WBI and the Air Force Research Laboratory could accomplish in the coming months.

Dr. Walker’s multi-service expertise helped WBI rapidly connect technology developed inside AFRL to men and women in uniform. The Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Office, Air Force Life Cycle Management (AFLCMC) and Air Force Special Operations Command (SOCOM) are some of the Air Force organizations leveraging WBI’s innovation and commercialization practices.