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The National Institute of Aerospace Announces Fourth Langley Professor |
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 January 12, 2005 - The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Robert H. Tolson as Langley Professor in Planetary Atmospheric and Flight Sciences by North Carolina State University (NCSU). Dr. Tolson is the fourth of six Langley Professors to be appointed by each of the six founding member universities of NIA. Dr. Tolson will be the principal NCSU faculty member resident at NIA, with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
Dr. Tolson will lead a new research program to develop and improve planetary atmospheric models and to use those models to design entry flight systems and trajectories. “NIA is excited to have Dr. Tolson onboard as both professor and researcher,” says Dr. Robert Lindberg, NIA President and Executive Director. “His past accomplishments in the planetary sciences promises great strides in research with NASA’s atmospheric science, planetary entry, and sensor development groups and is expected to attract the brightest science students to our program.”
Dr. Tolson brings 40 years of aerospace research experience to his new position as Langley Professor. During his 32 years at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), he held positions including Chief Scientist; and Head of the Planetary Physics Branch, the Atmospheric Sciences Branch, and the Interdisciplinary Research Office. After retiring from LaRC, he joined George Washington University/LaRC Joint Institute for Advancement of Flight Sciences as professor and researcher, teaching such courses as Analytical Mechanics, Space Flight Mechanics, and Space Flight Guidance and Navigation. For the past year, he has served as the University of Maryland (UMD) Liaison Professor at NIA, teaching Interplanetary Guidance & Navigation and Astrodynamics, as well as mentoring numerous UMD students. Dr. Tolson received his B.S., M.S., and A.B.D. degrees in Aeronautical Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics, respectively, from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He earned a Ph.D. from Old Dominion University in Engineering Mechanics.
“Dr. Tolson’s plans to develop physics-based uncertainty and risk analysis simulations using atmospheric entry and aeroassist approaches will create exciting, new avenues for our aerospace and atmospheric science researchers,” says Dr. Fred DeJarnette, NIA Liaison Professor and Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at NCSU.
Each Langley Professor holds a teaching and research faculty appointment at one of the founding member universities. They work closely as an integrated team with researchers at NASA, NIA and NIA’s member universities to create a unique research and education institute. Last year, NIA announced the selections of Dr. Alan Wilhite (Georgia Tech), Dr. Kathryn Logan (Virginia Tech), and Dr. James Hubbard (University of Maryland) as Langley Professors. Founding members continue to recruit Langley Professors for distinguished faculty in the fields of High Confidence Computational Systems and Quantum/Molecular Materials Design for Sensors.
The National Institute of Aerospace is a non-profit research and graduate education institute located just outside NASA’s Langley Research Center. It was created to complement Langley’s mission to do leading-edge aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation, and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
NIA was formed by a consortium of leading research universities and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation. The roster of major research universities includes consortium members: Georgia Tech, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and affiliate members: Old Dominion University and The College of William & Mary.
More information about the National Institute of Aerospace is available at: http://www.nianet.org.
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