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The National Institute of Aerospace Announces First Langley Professor |
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April 8, 2004 - The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Alan Wilhite as Langley Professor in Advanced Aerospace Systems Architecture by the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Wilhite is the first of six Langley Professors to be appointed by each of the six founding member universities of NIA. Dr. Wilhite will be the principal Georgia Tech faculty member resident at NIA, and will lead NIA’s research program in the field of systems analysis, with primary emphasis on developing life-cycle systems analysis and risk methodologies for advanced aerospace system architectures.
“Dr. Wilhite’s appointment is an important step forward for NIA’s research and graduate education missions,” says Dr. Robert Lindberg, NIA President and Executive Director. “He is an accomplished research leader with a national reputation for his work in life-cycle simulation of advanced aerospace systems.”
Since 2001, Dr. Wilhite has held the position of Eminent Scholar in Systems Engineering and Simulation at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. His prior career positions include Director of the Independent Program Assessment Office and Director of the Systems Management Office at NASA Langley. He received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University, an M.S. in Flight Systems from George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University.
“The addition of Prof. Wilhite to our faculty strengthens our important work in the analysis of advanced aeronautical and space systems,” says Dr. Robert Loewy, Chair of the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. “We expect that Alan will lead important research collaborations with our faculty and those of the other NIA member universities, on issues that are important to the future of U.S. air transportation.”
Each Langley Professor will hold a teaching and research faculty appointment at one of the founding member universities. They will work closely as an integrated team with the NIA President and Vice Presidents, the NASA NIA Management Office, the six Competency Area Chiefs at NASA Langley, and the NIA Liaison Professors at the six NIA founding universities to create a unique research and education institute. NIA’s founding members continue to recruit Langley Professors for distinguished faculty in the fields of Earth System Science, High Confidence Computational Systems, Quantum/Molecular Materials Design for Sensors, Multifunctional Design, and Smart, Adaptive Aerospace Vehicle Technology and Concept Development.
The National Institute of Aerospace is a world-class non-profit research and graduate institute, located just outside NASA’s Langley Research Center. It was created to complement Langley’s mission to do cutting-edge aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation, and help train the next generation of scientists and engineers.
NIA was formed by a consortium of universities and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation. The roster of major research universities includes consortium members: Georgia Institute of Technology, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and affiliate members: Old Dominion University and the College of William & Mary.
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