Twelve AIAA members are among the 130 newest members of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”
The following AIAA members have been elected to the NAE, one of the highest professional distinctions awarded to an engineer:
Iain Boyd, H.T. Sears Memorial Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder. AIAA Fellow. For contributions to the computational simulation of high-temperature gases and plasmas using kinetic methods for hypersonics and space propulsion.
James Carlini, Chief Technology Officer Emeritus, Leidos. AIAA Senior Member. For contributions to the development of new defense systems and technology.
John-Paul Clarke, Ernest Cockrell Jr. Memorial Chair, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Texas at Austin. AIAA Fellow. For contributions to the efficiency and environmental performance of civil aviation and the development of continuous descent approaches.
Ilya Kolmanovsky, Pierre T. Kabamba Collegiate Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. AIAA Associate Fellow. For contributions to nonlinear and optimal control systems theory and their applications in automotive and aerospace engineering.
Robert M. Lightfoot, President, Lockheed Martin Space Systems. AIAA Fellow. For leadership in the space shuttle, space station, and U.S. national security space programs in government and industry.
Howard McKenzie, Executive Vice President and Chief Engineer, Engineering, Test, and Technology, The Boeing Company. AIAA Senior Member. For engineering leadership in advanced commercial air platforms.
Shouleh Nikzad, Chief Technologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. AIAA Senior Member. For contributions to ultraviolet instrument technologies for space exploration.
Richard M. Obermann, President, Obermann SciTech LLC. AIAA Fellow. For government service to advance U.S. competitiveness, STEM, and national science and technology capabilities.
Ralph D. Semmel, Director Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. AIAA Senior Member. For leadership in generating innovative and disruptive engineering advancements in defense, national security and space exploration.
Zoltan S. Spakovszky, T. Wilson (1953) Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. AIAA Associate Fellow. International Member. For contributions, through rigorous discoveries and advancements, in aeroengine aerodynamic and aerostructural stability and acoustics.
Karen A. Thole, Robert J. Vlasic Dean, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. AIAA Fellow. For contributions to gas turbines through the development and deployment of innovative cooling technologies.
Williams Welsh, Lockheed Martin Senior Fellow (emeritus), Engineering, Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin Corp. AIAA Fellow. For contributions to rotorcraft dynamics including breakthrough active anti-vibration systems and higher harmonic control.
Congratulations to these AIAA members on this well-deserved professional honor. We are awed by their accomplishments throughout their careers, as they are shaping the future of aerospace.
