Tag: 2025

AIAA Announces Class of 2025 Honorary Fellows and Fellows

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 9, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) proudly congratulates its newly elected Class of 2025 Honorary Fellows and Fellows. The class will be inducted during a ceremony on Tuesday, 29 April, in Washington, DC, and celebrated during the AIAA Awards Gala on Wednesday, 30 April, AIAA Awards Gala tickets will be available in early 2025.

“Congratulations to each member of the Class of 2025 AIAA Honorary Fellows and Fellows for their remarkable accomplishments. They are among the most respected names in the aerospace profession,” said Dan Hastings, AIAA President. “These distinguished individuals have earned the respect and admiration of the global science and engineering community. We are in awe of their creativity and exceptional contributions that have advanced aerospace.”

Honorary Fellow is AIAA’s highest distinction, recognizing preeminent individuals who have made significant contributions to the aerospace industry and who embody the highest possible standards in aeronautics and astronautics. In 1933, Orville Wright became the first AIAA Honorary Fellow. Today, 245 people have been named AIAA Honorary Fellow.

AIAA confers Fellow upon individuals in recognition of their notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics. Nominees are AIAA Associate Fellows. Since the inception of this honor 2,092 persons have been elected as an AIAA Fellow.

“The Class of 2025 Honorary Fellows and Fellows are impressive aerospace professionals. They are dreamers who have transformed our understanding of flight and exploration, pushing the boundaries of human potential. I am privileged to call them friends and colleagues. Their groundbreaking work reminds me that innovation is born from passion, persistence, and the audacious belief that we can always reach a little further than we thought possible,” added AIAA CEO Clay Mowry.

2025 AIAA Honorary Fellows

Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr., USMC (Ret.), The Charles F. Bolden Group LLC
Alec Gallimore, Duke University
The Honorable Steven J. Isakowitz, The Aerospace Corporation

2025 AIAA Fellows

Maj. Gen. James B. Armor Jr., USAF (Ret.), The Armor Group LLC
Hamsa Balakrishnan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Brett A. Bednarcyk, NASA Glenn Research Center
John Maurice Carson III, NASA
Paul J. Cefola, University at Buffalo
Todd K. Citron, The Boeing Company
Stephen B. Clay, Air Force Research Laboratory
William A. Crossley, Purdue University
Boris Diskin, NASA Langley Research Center
Mary Lynne Dittmar, Axiom Space (retired) / Dittmar Associates
Stephen N. Frick, Lockheed Martin Space
Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, University of Minnesota
Luisella Giulicchi, European Space Agency
Vinay K. Goyal, The Aerospace Corporation
Michael J. Hirschberg, The Vertical Flight Society
Tristram Tupper Hyde, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Oliver L.P. Masefield, SolvAero Consulting GmbH
Richard G. Morgan, University of Queensland
Natasha A. Neogi, NASA Langley Research Center
Robert Pearce, NASA
Mason Peck, Cornell University
Lisa J. Porter, LogiQ, Inc.
Joseph M. Powers, University of Notre Dame
Michael G. Ryschkewitsch, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Murray L. Scott, Advanced Composite Structures Australia
Philippe R. Spalart, Flexcompute
Paul F. Taylor, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
Manuel Torres, Lockheed Martin

Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit  aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AIAA Announces 2025 Sustained Service Awards Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 3, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Sustained Service Awards. The award recognizes sustained, significant service and contributions to AIAA by members of the Institute.

“Volunteers are the driving force of the Institute – we couldn’t achieve our mission without the ingenuity, hands-on collaboration, and selfless service of our members,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry. “This year’s Sustained Service honorees exemplify servant leadership. We are grateful for their invaluable contributions to our community.”

The Sustained Service Award winners are AIAA members in good standing who have shown continuing dedication to the interests of the Institute by making significant and sustained contributions over a period of time, typically 10 years or more. Active participation and service at the local section/regional level, and/or the national level is a potential discriminator in the evaluation of candidates.

The 2025 Sustained Service Awards winners are:

  • Steven X. BauerSteven X. Bauer, NASA Langley Research Center
    For sustained leadership, service, and contributions to the Hampton Roads Section, Region I, and AIAA National.Bauer became an AIAA student member in his freshman year of college, 1981. He served as student branch officer and has held many positions in the Hampton Roads Section, including section chair. He was the Region I Director for six years. Bauer has worked at NASA Langley Research Center since 1983 and is retiring in December 2024.
  • Gene R. DionneGene R. Dionne, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired)
    For his passionate, unmatched support of AIAA and the Rocky Mountain Section through volunteering across all committees.Dionne spent 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, mostly in space systems acquisition and technology development. He was intimate in the manufacturing, integration, test and launch/on-orbit operations of ~30 satellites, which all exceeded their mean mission durations. Dionne spent 22 years at Lockheed Martin Space in systems engineering and program management. He was selected as AIAA Fellow in 2014, and served on the Fellows Selection Committee for three years. He was AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Chair for two years and continued to assist on the section’s executive council for another 20 years as the “Fellow-at-large.”
  • Trevor S. ElliottTrevor S. Elliott, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
    For prolific, dedicated, and outstanding service to AIAA forums, technical committees, student teams, outreach groups, rocketry organizations, and aerospace communities leading to numerous student-led recognitions.Elliott is a UC Foundation Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He serves as primary Faculty Advisor for the UTC Racing Mocs, SAE Chapter, and the UTC Rocket Mocs, roles where he has guided teams that have won national placement in collegiate competitions and set a world record in amateur rocketry. He is an active member of the AIAA Solid Rockets Technical Committee and Hybrid Rockets Technical Committee chair and technical discipline chair.
  • David C. FlemingDavid C. Fleming, University of Michigan
    For sustained service to the Cape Canaveral Section and Florida Institute of Technology Student Branch through continued participation, council leadership, and unwavering dedication to AIAA’s mission.Fleming earned a B.S. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park. He served on the faculty of the Florida Institute of Technology for 28 years, including a three-year term as department head. Fleming was faculty adviser of the AIAA Florida Tech Student Branch for over 25 years. Currently, he serves as Lecturer at the University of Michigan.
  • Aaron L. Harcrow Jr.Aaron L. Harcrow Jr., No Box Innovations
    For over 30 years of outstanding and sustained service to the Atlanta Section and Region II, contributing to the success of the Section.Harcrow joined AIAA as a student member in 1981 and regards his 42-plus-years membership as a learning experience in the many ways to volunteer for AIAA, for which there appears to be no end in sight! In addition to volunteering for AIAA, Harcrow has developed multidisciplinary skills in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, project management, innovative design, product development, CAD/CAM/CNC, computer programming, and teaching undergraduate engineering courses. He holds one USPTO patent.
  • Christopher J. PestakChristopher J. Pestak, HX5, LLC
    For dedicated service to AIAA and the field of aerospace for over 40 years, and holding significant leadership positions within AIAA.Pestak is Program Manager of the Glenn Engineering and Research Support (GEARS) contract for HX5, LLC. He manages 350 staff supporting NASA Glenn Research Center performing wide-ranging work in space and aeronautics. Spaceflight systems have been a primary focus of his 42-year career. Pestak holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering, both from Cleveland State University. He is an AIAA Fellow.
  • Robert W. PitzRobert W. Pitz, Vanderbilt University
    For over three decades of distinguished and continuous service to AIAA, especially in national leadership roles involving publication, honors, ethics, and technical committee activities.Pitz has mechanical engineering degrees from Purdue University (B.S.) and UC Berkeley (M.S. and Ph.D.). After five years at GE Research, he joined Vanderbilt University where he is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and served as Department Chair (1998–2017). He won the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1987) and AIAA Best Paper Award in Propellants & Combustion (1996). Pitz is an AIAA Fellow. He also is a Fellow of ASME and the Combustion Institute.

Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Early-bird Registration for AIAA SciTech Forum Ends 16 December

AIAA News

The 2025 forum will feature approximately 3,000 technical presentations spanning 60+ topics, including aerodynamic measurement technology, applied aerodynamics, fluid dynamics, guidance, navigation, and control, hypersonics, intelligent systems, propellants and combustions, spaceflight mechanics, and more. Professionals and students can save up to 25%.

Learn More 

2025 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research Awarded to Tim C. Lieuwen, Georgia Institute of Technology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lecture Set for 7 January During 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum

November 18, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2025 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research is awarded to Tim C. Lieuwen, Regents’ Professor, David S. Lewis Jr. Chair, and Executive Director of the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Lieuwen will deliver his lecture, “Future Research Directions in Aero Propulsion and Clean Energy Systems,” Tuesday, 7 January, 4 p.m. ET, during the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum, Orlando, Florida.

2025 AIAA SciTech Forum registration is available now. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

Lieuwen is a Regents’ Professor and the interim Executive Vice President for Research at Georgia Tech, where he provides overall leadership for its research, economic development, compliance, and commercialization units. He is also founder and CTO of TurbineLogic, an energy industry analytics firm. He is an international authority on clean energy and propulsion, and his work has contributed to numerous commercialized innovations in the energy and aerospace sectors. He has authored four books and over 500 other publications. Lieuwen serves on boards of three DOE national labs and EPRI, and is a DOE Secretary appointee to the National Petroleum Counsel. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Future aero propulsion and clean energy systems will be profoundly influenced by broader societal drivers associated with decarbonization, national security, and resilience. Lieuwen’s lecture will address these societal drivers and the underlying RD&D needs, such as system efficiencies, operational flexibility, emissions and environmental impacts, and fuel flexibility. As case studies, the lecture will highlight fundamental problems in combustion and fluid mechanics that flow out of these drivers. Many of these issues drive from the fact that combustion occurs in a high shear flow with strong density gradients, leading to important flow instabilities that often dominate fluid mixing, flame stability, interactions with acoustic waves, and system operability. Indeed, it is fair to say that understanding and controlling these interactions will be one of the key enablers – or stumbling blocks – behind realization of low carbon thermal energy systems, and next generation aircraft and rocket engines. Moreover, the dynamics and stability of reacting flows introduce fascinating physiochemical behaviors, which are fundamentally interesting in their own right. This lecture will span from fundamentals to current applications and unsolved problems at the intersection of combustion, fluid mechanics, and flow stability, and will be of interest to industry, researchers, and students.

The Dryden Lectureship in Research is one of the most prestigious lectureships bestowed by the Institute. Since the inaugural lecture in 1961, it has been a catalyst for sharing research advancements and knowledge. This premier lecture is named in honor of Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, a renowned aerospace leader and a director of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, as well as the first deputy administrator of NASA when the agency was created in 1958. The award emphasizes the importance of basic research in advancing aeronautics and astronautics. For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Crew-8 Splashes Down Off the Coast of Pensacola, Florida

Spaceflight Now reports that three U.S. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut have “returned to Earth after spending more than seven months in space.” Crew-8 includes NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

 

Video

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Re-entry and Splashdown
(NASA; YouTube)

Challenger Center and AIAA Open Nominations for 2025 Trailblazing STEM Educator Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three winners will be honored for enthusiasm and dedication to STEM education

Washington and Reston, Va. (September 24, 2024) –  Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced they are accepting nominations for the 2025 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. The annual award celebrates K-12 teachers going above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. Nominations can be submitted online through December 1, 2024.

Three winners will be selected from the nominations. Each winner and their respective school or organization will be awarded $5,000. They will receive free access to Challenger Center’s STEM education programs. In addition, they will receive a trip to Washington, DC, to be honored at the 2025 AIAA Awards Gala, as well as a special presentation ceremony at their school. The winners also will have the opportunity to attend a space launch experience and/or a VIP tour of an aerospace facility.

“Teachers are essential in unlocking the potential of today’s students and fostering their interest in STEM,” said Valerie Fitton-Kane, vice president, Challenger Center. “We are excited to partner once again with the AIAA Foundation to celebrate outstanding STEM educators nationwide who go above and beyond to bring STEM to life for their students, inspiring them to explore the many opportunities available in STEM careers.”

“Educators are invaluable to our communities. We share a commitment with Challenger Center to invest in trailblazing educators because they are the clear force multiplier to inspiring our future workforce. They can spark students’ interest in STEM subjects, especially the science and engineering behind aerospace, that can drive a student’s future career choices,” said Laura McGill, chair, AIAA Foundation.

The award recognizes teachers who connect classroom lessons to the country’s current and future plans of STEM exploration and innovation, introduce students to STEM careers, and activate students’ imagination about space exploration.

The U.S. aerospace and defense industry leads the world in innovation, while still facing challenges of staffing a properly skilled and qualified workforce. Crucial gaps in diversity, equity, and inclusion must be addressed – more STEM-literate graduates are needed, greater participation is needed by women and ethnic minorities, and early retirements are creating a growing knowledge gap.

About Challenger Center
As a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51-L. For more information about Challenger Center, please visit https://www.challenger.org/ or connect on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

About AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation inspires and supports the next generation of aerospace professionals. From classroom to career, the AIAA Foundation enables innovative K-12 and university programming, including STEM classroom grants, scholarships, conferences, and hands-on competitions. Founded in 1996, the AIAA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization connected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, andInstagram.

Contacts

 

Challenger Center
Lisa Vernal
[email protected]
202-827-1573

AIAA
Rebecca Gray
[email protected]
804-397-5270

Starliner Crew May Return Home with SpaceX in 2025

The New York Times reports that for weeks, NASA has downplayed problems experienced by Starliner, but on Wednesday, NASA officials admitted that the issues might be more serious than first thought and that the astronauts might not return on the Boeing vehicle. “The agency is exploring a backup option for the astronauts, Suni Wiliams and Butch Wilmore, to instead hitch a ride back to Earth on a spacecraft built by Boeing’s competitor SpaceX. The astronauts’ stay in orbit, which was to be as short as eight days, could be extended into next year.”
Full Story (New York Times)

Boeing CEO Anticipates Max 7 and 10 Certification in First Half of 2025

FlightGlobal reports, “Boeing chief executive David Calhoun thinks the company could have its 737 Max 7 and Max 10 certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration in the first half of 2025, while cautioning that the regulator will determine ultimate timing. Calhoun laid out the timeframe on 31 July, saying Boeing has made progress in redesigning the types’ engine anti-ice system, which has been holding up the certifications.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Pentagon Set to Move Forward with Replicator Drone Program to Counter China

Bloomberg reports the Pentagon “is likely to decide by mid-December what drones will make up the initial phase of its new Replicator program intended to deploy thousands of pilotless aircraft in 2025 to counter China’s numeric superiority in weapons systems such as ships, according to the Defense Department’s No. 2 official.” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks “said Tuesday that the choices may not be announced publicly ‘because part of the program’s intent is to create operational dilemmas for China’ as to how best to counter the new capability.”
Full Story (Bloomberg)