Tag: honors

2022 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service Awarded to SpaceX’s William H. Gerstenmaier

Lecture will be Delivered on 3 January, During 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum

December 30, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2022 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service is awarded to William H. Gerstenmaier, Vice President, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX. Gerstenmaier will deliver his lecture, “Human Spaceflight – The Ultimate Team Sport,” Monday, 3 January, 1250 hrs PT, during the 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum, San Diego and online, 3–7 January. Registration is still open to attend in San Diego in person, or online. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

The Durand Lecture for Public Service, named in honor of William F. Durand, Ph.D., is presented for notable achievements by a scientific or technical leader whose contributions have led directly to the understanding and application of the science and technology of aeronautics and astronautics for the betterment of humanity. Durand was a United States naval officer and a pioneer in mechanical engineering. During his remarkable 99-year life, Durand contributed significantly to the development of aircraft propellers. He was the first civilian chair of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the forerunner of NASA.

The Institute’s Public Policy Committee takes pride in selecting accomplished leaders in aeronautics and astronautics for this honor who can share their knowledge through the Durand Lecture for Public Service.

Gerstenmaier leads SpaceX’s quality engineering and process development teams, oversees the launch readiness process, and serves as Chief Engineer on select missions. Prior to joining SpaceX, Gerstenmaier served as the associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. He began his career at NASA in 1977, at the then Lewis Research Center in Cleveland. Throughout the next 40 years, he oversaw programs at NASA (such as the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) Operations); led the Space Shuttle/Space Station Freedom Assembly Operations; served as Shuttle/Mir Program operations manager; managed the Space Shuttle Program Integration; and served as the ISS Program manager. Named associate administrator for the Space Operations Directorate in 2005, Gerstenmaier directed the safe completion of the last 21 Space Shuttle missions that witnessed assembly completion of the International Space Station.

Gerstenmaier is an Honorary Fellow of AIAA, having been a member of AIAA since the 1990s. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from Purdue University, as well as a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an honorary Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from the University of Toledo. He was elected into the 2018 class of the National Academy of Engineering.

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

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Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, APR, [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 Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

2022 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research Awarded to Anthony M. Waas

Lecture will be Delivered on 5 January, During 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum

January 3, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2022 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research is awarded to Anthony M. Waas, the Richard A. Auhll Department Chair of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Waas will deliver his lecture, “Digital Tools for Design and Analysis of Composite Aerostructures,” Wednesday, 5 January, 1800 hrs PT, during the 2022 AIAA SciTech Forum, San Diego and online, 3-7 January. Registration is still open to attend in San Diego in person, or online. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

The Dryden Lecture in Research is one of the most prestigious lectures 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 the 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.

Waas has been with the University of Michigan since 2018. Prior to that he was the Boeing Egtvedt Endowed Chair Professor and Department Chair in the William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Washington, Seattle. Waas was the Felix Pawlowski Collegiate Chair Professor of Aerospace Engineering, and the Director, Composite Structures Laboratory, at the University of Michigan, from 1988 to 2014, prior to joining the University of Washington in 2015.

Waas is a Fellow of AIAA. He also is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, the American Society for Composites, the American Academy of Mechanics and the Royal Aeronautical Society, UK. In 2017, Waas was elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences, and in 2018 to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is also the recipient of the 2020 AIAA ICME Prize and the 2020 ASME Warner T. Koiter Medal. Recently, Waas was elected to the U.S. National Academies Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board.

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, APR, [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 Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.