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The Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan is pleased tohave this opportunity to update our alumni,friends, and colleagues. In 1914 Michigan

became the first collegiate program in the United States tooffer aeronautical engineering education, 11 years after theWright brothers’ historic flight at Kitty Hawk. We are proud of this history and continually strive to achieve our mission: to provide students with a solid foundation in the disciplinesvital to aerospace engineering, and to expand existing knowl-edge though leading-edge research.

In the last two decades, many of our well-established practices have experienced sweeping changes. As demonstrat-ed by projects such as the Falcon 7X, an entire airplane cannow be designed in a virtual environment. Computer-aidedanalysis and design tools are used to predict various compo-nents’ performance, before conducting wind tunnel tests.Everything from construction to refueling and maintenance is included in these simulations. Such a single-data-basedesign and manufacturing procedure is being adoptedthroughout the aerospace industry.

An advanced computing environment alone cannot dupli-cate reality unless the correct physics is modeled, and virtualreality must be checked by actual reality before parts can be

FROM THE CHAIR

Wei ShyyProfessor and Department Chair

successfully made and joined. Our students need to have afundamentally sound education, so that they are capable ofusing physical insight to interpret and, when in doubt, ques-tion the outcome of the simulation. They also need to be ade-quately equipped to see that their design is sound from amanufacturing viewpoint.

As part of our continuing efforts in enhancing the learningenvironment for our students, the Department has been spon-soring the Aerospace Seminar Series, inviting scholars andindustrial leaders to share their insights with our students andfaculty. The Department is also in the process of hiring threenew faculty members.

It is critical that people from universities, industry, andgovernment work closely so that we can offer balanced andupdated education, and transfer knowledge from research lab-oratories to industry practices in a timely manner. We at UM’sAerospace Engineering Department will continue to do ourbest to promote such a partnership with you, our alumni,friends and colleagues. n

top: American aviator and inventor Orville Wright (1871–1948) flies a glider as he sets a world's gliding record of 9 minutes and 45 seconds,Kill Devil Hill, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, October 24, 1911. This was the last major aviation record held by the Wright brothers.

above: The Falcon 7X, an entire airplane designed in a virtual environment.

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AERO DEPARTMENT’S ROLE IN NASA’S MOON-MARSEXPLORATION EFFORTS

The UM Aerospace Engineering Department is a major academic partner in NASA’s effort in returning to the Moonand eventually exploring Mars. Under NASA’s ConstellationUniversity Institutes Program (CUIP), our faculty and stu-dents have been awarded a five-year, first-phase grant tocarry out a cooperative project with NASA. It should benoted that the Air Force is funding one-third of this activity.The NASA project managers overseeing the activities pur-sued within the CUIP are Ms. Claudia Meyer and Dr. JeffRybak, from NASA Glenn Research Center.

The principal research thrusts pursued by Departmentfaculty members associated with these research activitiesare listed below:

• Thrust Chamber AssemblyProfessors W. Dahm, J. Driscoll, A. Gallimore and W. Shyy

• Propellant Storage and DeliveryProfessor W. Shyy

• Vehicle Thermal StructuresProfessors C. Cesnik, P. Friedmann and A. Waas

• Re-entry AerothermodynamicsProfessors I. Boyd, K. Powell and P. Roe

The CUIP has supported several Ph.D. students whohave finished their degrees, and is currently supporting several more who are working towards their degrees. Sinceits inception, this project has had a substantial impact onboth the research and the educational activities of theDepartment, since it represents the largest group researchproject that has been pursued by the Aerospace EngineeringDepartment. It has led to the development of new courses,new research facilities, and a new course on HypersonicAerothermodynamics has been introduced by ProfessorBoyd as a result of the CUIP funding. Similarly, majorpieces of equipment have been acquired, such as a six-footautoclave and a computer cluster with 96 nodes, that servethe needs of the students and faculty. New laboratories havealso been established as a result of the project. n

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Smart Materials

Prof. J. Shaw and his collaborator Prof. D. Grummon(Michigan State University) have invented a new method(patent pending) to construct light-weight, cellular struc-tures from wrought Nickel-Titanium (Nitinol) shape memo-ry alloy (SMA) elements. The method consists of a reactive-brazing process that creates a robust metallurgical bondbetween Nitinol and itself that solves many longstandingdifficulties in the fabrication of SMA structures, and it facil-itates the fabrication of a variety of built-up sparse struc-tures, including SMA foams, honeycombs, and meshes. Sofar, prototype honeycombs have been fabricated and demon-strated, including the one shown above, which has over 94%free volume. Such structures can be designed to be arbitrarilylight-weight, yet retain the adaptive properties of the under-lying SMA material (shape memory effect and superelastici-ty). This combination of sparse topology and adaptive prop-erties represents a new class of materials that can be usedas multifunctional structural elements that respond tochanges in external loads and temperature. In addition, thesparse topology leads to an order-of-magnitude improvementin recoverable strain capability and thermal response time,as compared to monolithic Nitinol. Potential applicationsare numerous, including reusable energy-absorbing struc-tures, highly resilient structures, lightweight armor, thermalactuation materials, vibration isolation, and biomedicalimplants. These materials have broad application possibili-ties in the aerospace, automotive, energy, and biomedicalindustries. n

AERO SUCCESSFUL IN ABET EVALUATIONThe Department recently underwent its six-year, AccreditationBoard for Engineering and Technology (ABET) evaluation andwas granted another six years of accreditation without weaknessor concern. Overall, the ABET reviewer was impressed withthe quality of the facilities, faculty, and students, and he indi-cated no concerns, weaknesses, or deficiencies in the under-graduate program. Over the past six years the Department hasimplemented a significantly new undergraduate curriculum(Curriculum 2000) that reorganized the course content andprovided threads in technical communications and teamworkthroughout the curriculum. The new curriculum also put inplace a process for defining desired outcomes for each course,and for the overall program, and assessing how well those out-comes are being achieved. Our constituencies (students, alumni,and employers) are involved in the assessment process, whichuses senior and alumni surveys, employer interviews, tailoredstudent course evaluations, student work samples, and facultycourse surveys. Input is also solicited from the AerospaceStudent Advisory Board, the Industrial Advisory Committee,and an External Review Committee (in 2004). Alumni surveysgathered over recent years have been especially useful to char-acterize the relative importance and achievements of differentskills and knowledge learned during their undergraduate edu-cation. Alumni have consistently rated “ability to function on

above: Hexagonal honeycomb made from superelastic shape memory alloy

corrugated strips: (a) oblique view, (b) close up showing brazed junctions.

a team”, “engineering problem-solving skills”, “written and oral communication skills”, and “understanding of professionaland ethical responsibility” as being very important in their profession. Alumni rate their undergraduate preparation asgood-to-excellent in “engineering problem-solving skills”, “math, science, and engineering skills”, and “ability to function on a team”. For example, as shown above, a 2003-04 survey ofseniors compared to alumni (including classes from 1992-2002)shows marked improvement in ability to function on teamsand communication. Even with this ABET Endorsement workcontinues to improve the curriculum. Activities include effortsto insert an early design-build-test course and to improveexposure to simulation throughout the program. n

Program Outcomes Goal for Alumni Senior Mean Survey Survey

Response 2003-04 2003-041 to 5 percentage percentage

above goal above goal

Mathematics, science and engineering 4 91% 85%

Design and conduct experiments 3 86% 85%

Design a system, component, or process 3 88% 74%

Ability to function on teams 4 61% 96%

Solve engineering problems 4 88% 82%

Professional and ethical responsibility 3 77% 75%

Communicate effectively (written) 4 60% 86%

Communicate effectively (oral) 4 48% 74%

Global/societal context 3 63% 62%

Life-long learning 3 95% 89%

Knowledge of contemporary issues 3 75% 65%

Modern Engineering tools 4 63% 69%

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2005 COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING STUDENT AWARDSAND RECOGNITIONS

Congratulations to the following Aerospace graduate andundergraduate students for their outstanding accomplish-ments: Josef Bogosian (BSE Aero) UG DistinguishedAchievement Award for academic and personal excellence;Lauren Greiner (BSE Aero ’05), Arlen R. Hellwarth Prizeand the UG Distinguished Leadership Award; AlexanderMurray (BSE Aero) Charles F. Barth Jr. Prize for a sopho-more demonstrating academic excellence, leadership, and outstanding contributions to the University and/or commu-nity; Dan Patt (BSE Aero ’00, MSAE Aero ’02, PhD Aero’04), Graduate Distinguished Achievement Award for academic and personal excellence; Jennifer Szymusiak(BSE Aero ’05) Arlen R. Hellwarth Prize and the UGDistinguished Leadership Award; and Li Qiao (BSE Aero)Marian Sarah Parker Prize for graduate research. n

AE-SPONSORED UNDERGRADUATE SUMMERRESEARCH PROGRAM

Four Aero students—Jason Banker, Rich French, RobbySwoish, and Xong Sing Yap each received 2005 SummerUndergraduate Research Awards, which enables under-graduate students to carry out research programs under theguidance of an Aerospace Department faculty member.These awards are made possible by funding from theDepartment and the College of Engineering in memory of Edward A. Stalker and Frank Sheehan. Each student submitted a written report detailing their research findings.They also made oral presentations on December 7, 2005, in an open forum in the Department.

Jason Banker, “Bolted Composite Joint,” (faculty advisor:Prof. Waas). Jason researched light-weight composite aircraft

materials motivated by higher tempera-ture applications. His study attemptedto determine the interplay of the failuremodes seen during in-plane strain astemperatures increase from room temperature to 500°F—roughly theexpected temperature inside the struc-tural body (unmanned portion) of anatmospheric reentry vehicle—e.g. thewing box. The specimens were bolteddouble-lap joints, tested in a custombuilt oven designed to fit around thetest area of a mechanical test frame.

Richard T. French, “Hypersonics, Thermal Protection,and the Future of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV),”(faculty advisor: Prof. Kauffman). Richard investigated CEVrequirements such as abort capability through the entire flightenvelope and certification through testing, suggest a lifting-body type re-entry vehicle. Richard’s interest was to gaininsight into the interplay between hypersonic test facilities,computational analysis, ground-based testing, and flight-testdata throughout the entire flight regime of the CEV.

Robby Swoish, “Micro Air Vehicles,” (faculty advisor: Prof. Shyy). Micro Air Vehicles, or MAVs, are flight vehicleswith dimensions of less than 15 cm and speeds of less than40 mph, operating at a low Reynolds number (104-105)regime which results in unfavorable aerodynamic character-istics such as low lift-to-drag ratios. Robby reviewed currentMAV designs and research as well as competitions thatattempt to push the limits of MAVs at the university level.He is interested in conducting studies in morphing wings,flapping wings, and flight autonomy.

Xong Sing Yap, “Design and Fabrication of Wind TunnelAeroelastic Test Setup” (faculty advisor: Prof. Cesnik). XongSing designed a wind tunnel setup for aeroelastic testing of high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerialvehicles (UAV) scaled models, particularly flying wing suchas AeroVironment’s Helios. These aircraft typically have a lightweight and highly flexible structure that classical (linear) aeroelastic analytical techniques cannot model. His report presented the designof the aeroelastic test setup,including its detailed CADmodel, and described the fabrication of most of the parts.It also described the analysisand selection of all electro-mechanical parts used in theapparatus. n

top: bolted double-lapjoint; above: Custom built temperature chamber.

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM UPDATEFrançois-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation Thanks to the generous support from the François-XavierBagnoud (FXB) Foundation, we are pleased to announce thecurrent FXB Fellows. The FXB Fellows are selected by theGraduate Committee. The FXB Fellowship provides tuitionand stipend for graduate study in the Department.• Jesse Linnell (PhD Aero) is working with Professor

Alec Gallimore on the performance of Krypton propel-lant in Hall thrusters.

• Leonardo Scalabrin (PhD Aero) is working withProfessor Iain Boyd on development of a code applicableto simulation of flows over a wide range of Knudsennumbers.

• Marci Paskowitz (PhD Aero) is working with ProfessorDan Scheeres on design and control of unstable space-craft orbits about planetary satellites, with a specificfocus on an orbiter mission to the Jovian moon Europa.

Past recipients include: • Gregory C. Burton (PhD AE ’03, MSAE ’03)

is currently a postdoctoral scientist at the Center for Turbulence Research at Stanford University.

• Florence D. Hennin Dungan (PhD AE ’00, MSAE ’93)is employed by Raytheon in Tucson, Arizona.

• Ilya V. Kolmanovsky (PhD AE ’95, MSAE ’93) is aStaff Technical Specialist and Project Leader at FordMotor Company’s Scientific Laboratories. He is also an adjunct faculty member in Michigan’s MechanicalEngineering Department.

• Timur J. Linde (PhD AE ’98) is currently a ResearchScientist at University of Chicago. He says that his specialty is blowing up stars: he does not blow themup—they do that quite well by themselves—but studieshow and why they explode.

• Albert Ratner (PhD AE ’00, MSAE ’96) is AssistantProfessor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Iowa.

• Alexander V. Roup (PhD AE ’02, MSAE ’99) is working on guidance, control, and navigation at Vehicle Control Technologies in Reston, Virginia.

• Lester K. Su (PhD AE ’95, MSAE ’91) is AssistantProfessor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins.

The Department of Aerospace Engineering has benefited from the generosityof the FXB Foundation in a number of other ways, including: their contri-bution to the establishment of the FXB building; the commission of MayaLin’s Wave Field, a landscape sculpture that graces the east entrance to the FXB building; the Aero Library and Learning Center; the FXB Chair,an endowed professorship currently held by Prof. P. Friedmann; and theFXB Center for Rotary and Fixed Wing Air Vehicle Design. We are gratefulfor their continued support. n solid model of aeroelastic test frame.

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By Laura Gadzala (BSE Aero ’05)

on a warmish Wednesday in October (’04), one of my friends casually mentioned an interesting program offered through NASA—something about microgravity and riding the

KC-135—and what college student can resist somethingreferred to by engineering professionals as the Vomit Comet! I told him it sounded pretty cool, and to let me know how toget involved. He said all we needed to do was submit a pro-posal with an experiment procedure and some public outreachprograms—by midnight. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite thatshort of notice, but it was close.

That friend was Andrew Klesh (BSE Aero/BSE EE ’05),our team leader. We quickly recruited Rene Kreis (BSE Aero’05) to join the experiment-design frenzy. Our project’s goalwas to determine an effective method of removing air bubblesfrom medical syringes. Bubbles in a syringe injected into anindividual can create an air embolism, usually fatal. On earth,this problem is solved simply: the doctor holds the needle up and flicks the syringe, which forces any air bubbles to thetop of the syringe. Depressing the plunger slightly ejects theair bubbles, rendering the syringe ready for injection. Thistechnique, however, is not viable in the microgravity environ-ment of space, as there is no “up” to flick the bubbles to. Our experiment included the use of a centrifuge-like device to force any air bubbles to the needle end of the syringe. A plunger mechanism is then activated to force the bubblesout while the syringe is still spinning.

Upon receiving our acceptance into the program, weimmediately began fine-tuning our project and the experimentalapparatus. Two others were added to complete our team: NickSchoeps (BSE ME ‘07) and Jeff Lance (BSE ME ‘06). After

rushing to get our Test Equipment Data Package (TEDP) in by the deadline, we were dismayed to see our flight datepushed back until June, and then again to late October (’05).Fortunately, thanks to the thoughtfulness of our fellowReduced Gravity Flight Opportunity Program (RGFOP) teamat Michigan, we were able to secure a flight date in July.

Our first task upon arriving at Ellington Field was to check in and obtain badges that would grant us access tomany of the facilities in Houston. We attended an orientationand were introduced to the leaders of the RGFOP. Once inthe hangar, we began putting the final touches on our projectalongside the C-9, attended physiological training, andenjoyed the Texas summer weather.

The most demanding of our activities was the physiologi-cal training. We sat through four hours of lecture before heading to NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab for our ride in thehypobaric chamber. After being fitted for helmets and oxygenmasks, we headed into the chamber, which simulates a rise to an altitude of 25,000 feet. After reaching this altitude, we removed our masks to experience about five minutes ofhypoxia—a condition induced by lack of oxygen. Our reactionsranged from hell-bent concentration to downright loopiness,but we were prepared in the event of a decompression emergency aboard the aircraft. Later that week we were able to fly once before mechanical difficulties grounded the plane and us indefinitely.

We still need to pass our Test Readiness Review beforeloading our project onto the plane and flying our experiment.The review is concerned mainly with safety and procedure,and after working on our project for 18 months we’re fairlyconfident we can answer any question they throw at us. If we can get past the random electrical glitches, rampantmosquitoes, mechanical failures, and overbearing humidity,we may just be in for the ride of our lives. n

TEAM SPACEBUBBLES: NASA-SPONSORED PARABOLIC FLIGHT EXPERIMENT FOR STUDENT RESEARCH

Left: Team Spacebubbles.

From left to right, Jeff Lance,

Andy Klesh, Laura Gadzala,

Nick Schoeps.

Far Left: Work in hangar.

AE385 & AE585 OFFER FORUMS FOR RESEARCH AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

The Department regularly host visitors from industry, federalagencies, as well as academic and research institutionsaround the world. We offer two seminar courses: AE585offers a forum for research presentations by outstandingresearchers; AE385 exposes students to the breadth of contemporary issues they may face in engineering practice. The issues range from narrowly technical—for instance, the design of a SCRAM Jet—to broader and societal issuessuch as the diplomatic implications of designing the JointStrike Fighter in cooperation with foreign allies. Guest speak-ers are often UM alumni and we are pleased to acknowledgethe following for their contributions in AE385 in Fall 2005:Siva Banda, AFRL-WPAFB, “Unmanned Air VehiclesControls Research at the Air Force Research Laboratory”;Corey Brooker (MSE Aero ’95) Analex Corporation,“Analex’s Role in Independent Validation and Verification

of EELV”; Tracy Conley (BSE Aero ’92) “AerodynamicApplications in the Automotive Industry”; Mark Dub(BSE Aero ’99) NASA Johnson, “Space Shuttle: Returningthe Fleet to Flight”; Aaron Jacobovits (BSE Aero ’99) The Aerospace Corporation, “National ReconnaissanceOffice, The Nation’s Eyes and Ears in Space”; Jason Kramb(MSE Aero ’00) Scaled Composites, “Scaled Composites–Winning the X-Prize”; Jack Lousma (MSE Aero ’65) Retired Astronaut, “Manned Space Flight: Before Your Time”; Tricia Mack (BSE Aero ’94) NASA Johnson, “A Walk inSpace”; Tracy Scott (BSE Aero ’93) NASA Johnson, “ISSthe Brightest Satellite in the Sky”; Chris Steffen (BSE Aero’88) NASA Glenn, “Rocket Based Combined Cycle Engines”;and Charla Wise (BSE Aero ’75) Lockheed Martin,“JSF–Getting Ready for 1st Flight.” n

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Professor Gerard M. Faeth(1936– 2005)

Jerry Faeth passed away suddenly at his home on January 24th, 2005.He was the Arthur B. ModineProfessor of Aerospace Engineering atthe University of Michigan for twentyyears and was awarded the rank ofDistinguished University Professorby the University of Michigan.

Jerry was an exceptional scholar as evidenced by interna-tional recognition for his diverse and lasting contributions tothe fields of combustion science, heat transfer, and aerospaceengineering. He served as an Editor of a major journal in eachof these three fields: Combustion and Flame (1991–1997),the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, and the AIAA Journal. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in1991 for his “seminal contributions to the understanding ofthe structure of combustive and noncombustive sprays,” wasawarded the status of Fellow in AIAA, ASME, AAAS, andAPS. In 2004 the Combustion Institute honored him with the Alfred C. Egerton Gold Medal, presented at the ThirtiethInternational Combustion Symposium in Chicago. He alsoreceived the NASA Public Service Medal in 1999.

His career was characterized by excellence and originality.He was one of the most often-cited researchers in the com-bustion field, and much his work was known to be of textbookquality. Many of the 52 PhD students that he mentored arenow established professors and leaders and active contributorsin industry and federal government. He published over 230archival journal papers, and at nine different conferences he won the best paper award. One area in which Jerry wasespecially active in the last several years was microgravitycombustion, where he served on various NASA advisory pan-els for a number of years. His own microgravity research forNASA was conducted on a number of Space Shuttle missions.He was also consistently ranked as one of the two or threemost successful classroom teachers in the Department, inboth undergraduate and graduate courses.

We have received contributions from a number ofProfessor Faeth’s former students, colleagues, and friends tohonor him. We will establish an annual G.M. Faeth MemorialLecture in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, invitingan academic or industrial leader to deliver a lecture aimed at the current state of and future perspective in aerospaceengineering and science. The lecturer will also spend timemeeting students and faculty to exchange ideas. This annuallecture is a fitting way to pay tribute to Professor Faeth’s enormous contributions to the aerospace engineering profes-sion and our Department. We welcome your contributions to help fund this endeavor.

Professor William W. Willmarth(1924– 2005)

Bill Willmarth was born March 25,1924 in Highland Park, Illinois. Bill attended Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana for one yearbefore he enlisted in the Army AirForce. He served his country duringWorld War II as a single engine pilotinstructor and a flight engineer on

a B-29. He was honorably discharged January 6, 1944 as a 1stLieutenant and received the American Theater Ribbon andthe Victory Medal. He returned to Purdue University wherehe earned a B.S.M.E. degree. Following his graduation from

Purdue, he attended the California Institute of Technology(Caltech) in Pasadena, California where he earned his MSand a PhD in Aeronautical engineering.

In 1958 Bill came to Ann Arbor where he was a facultymember of Aerospace Engineering at the University ofMichigan. While a professor at U of M he taught, conductedexperiments, and gained international reputation in experi-mental turbulence research. His investigation on near-wallturbulence, as well as his contributions to the small scaleexperimental measurement techniques, are considered pioneering work. He was a Fellow of the American PhysicalSociety, and received the Society’s 1989 Fluid Dynamics Prize.Bill was also involved in re-designing the hull of the Tridentsubmarine for the U.S. Navy and applied aerody-namic principles to golf ball design for Spaulding. Bill retired asProfessor Emeritus from U of M on May 31, 1990. Bill loved sailing, tennis, skiing, golf and reading. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Robinson Willmarth; his son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Kay Willmarth; daughters DeborahPatterson, Libby Foster, and Kathleen Willmarth. Bill has four grandchildren, Kaitlin, Sam, and Stuart Patterson and Jimmy Foster.

John E. Taylor(1931– 2005)

John E. Taylor, Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering, passedaway in October 2005. Professionallyas well as in daily life, John wasincredibly diverse, meticulous, car-ing, and had a keen eye for detail.He always took a gentle approachand could be relied upon to provide

insight into virtually any problem. He was a craftsman and innovator not only in the traditional sense of buildinghomes and creating novel devices, but also in terms of socialissues. In his early years he participated in the Free SpeechMovement at UCLA, and later was an ardent peace activist.He volunteered at the People’s Food Coop, the Synanon Drug Rehabilitation Program, and the Prospect PlaceHomeless Shelter. He invented the “Solid Medium ThermalEngine”, which, as he tells the story, nobody—especially the Patent Office—believed that it would work until therewas a physical demonstration; after which the model wasretained in their collection.

John brought his unique approach to his professionalactivities as well. He primarily worked in the area of optimiza-tion with an emphasis on structures. He was internationallyknown for elegant problem formulations. He developed a special affinity for colleagues in Portugal and Denmark. Afavorite solution technique was to take a complex problemand paradoxically appear to make it worse by removing appar-ently immutable constraints. He would then proceed to intro-duce a mild condition to achieve the answer with minimaleffort. Perhaps his most famous works led to the solution ofoptimal compliance of a structure with completely generaltopology and material properties.

John was dedicated to both the intellectual and socialdevelopment of our students. His office invariably had anopen door in which he was available for consultation on anytopic. If he asked you to sit down, and offered you a cookie, a biscuit, or nuts then you knew your question was particu-larly challenging.

Family and friends gathered for music and celebration ofJohn’s life at the Kerrytown Concert House on November 15,2005. We will all sorely miss his insightful point-of-view, hiselegant and distinctive script, and his wit and friendship.

MEMORIAM

ENGINEERING 100-700: INTRODUCTION TO SPACE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

During the past two fall terms (’05 and’04) Professors Washabaugh (AerospaceEngineering) and Olsen (TechnicalCommunications) were able to offer anexperimental version of the College’sfirst year engineering course “Eng 100”.The course combines an introduction

to engineering and technical communications. The Aero versionof the course in addition involved ten laboratory experiencesand two design-build-test projects. The theme was to design a Martian surveillance blimp and build an Earth-scaled model.The final project was to design, build and fly radio controlledlighter than air vehicles. In the most recent offering the

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DR. NIKOLAS A. BLETSOS HONORED WITH THE COLLEGE’SMERIT AWARD

Dr. Nikolas A. Bletsos (BSE Aero ’68, MSE ’69, PhD ’76)was the recipient of College of Engineering’s Merit Award.The College honored him and fourteen Engineering alumniat the 14th Annual Alumni Society Awards reception anddinner on October 7, 2005. Each year the College recognizesdistinguished alumni for their performance, leadership, and the impact their accomplishments have made withintheir organizations and their communities.

Nikolas Bletsos is Director of the Guidance AnalysisDepartment for The Aerospace Corporation in Huntington

Beach, California. With hiscurrent responsibility, heserves as an advisor to theU.S. government on the mili-tary side of the space program.He has also made significantcontributions as a member ofour Department’s Industrial

Advisory Committee, offering his insight on current andprojected trends in our profession, and the recruitment andemployment of our graduates. Several years ago, one of ourstudents suffered from a life threatening car injury, leavinghim physically impaired and facing limited employmentopportunities. Dr. Bletsos looked beyond these limitations to see the student’s capability and potential, and offeredhim employment in The Aerospace Corporation. That graduate is now a respected, contributing member in ourprofession as well as society. Examples like this show thatDr. Bletsos helps in direct and meaningful ways, as ouralumnus as well as an industrial partner.

Also in attendance was Richard A. Auhll (BSE Aero ’63), and former CoE Merit Award recipient(1996). Trained as an aerospace engineer, Auhll earned a BSE at Michigan, an MS in engineering at StanfordUniversity, and an MBA at Harvard University. In hisearly career, he served as a rocket systems engineer and program development manager with UnitedTechnologies Corporation. He founded surgical equipmentmanufacturer, Circon Corporation, serving as president and chairman of the board before his retirement in 1998.His commitment to engineering education is strong. He has served on the CoE’s National Advisory Committee, andin 2002 he established the Richard A. Auhll Professorshipof Engineering at the University of Michigan. n

2005 AERO STUDENT PROFILE

The Aerospace Engineering Department continues to enjoyhealthy enrollment and productive graduation rates. We cur-rently enroll about 300 undergraduate students (typicallystudents declare their majors in the sophomore year) andabout 180 graduate students. In the last academic year wegraduated about 100 bachelor degree students, 40 master’sstudents, and 16 doctoral students. The recent doctoraldegree recipients from the Department are listed below.Congratulations to everyone!

December 2005: Suhail Akhtar, “Discrete-Time Trailing HorizonDirect Adaptive Disturbance Rejection,” Dennis S. Bernstein, chair;Shiladtya Basu, “Computational Modeling of Progressive Failure and Damage in Composite Laminates,” Tony Waas, chair; ChumpeiCai, “Theoretical and Numerical Studies of Plume Flows in VacuumChambers,” Iain Boyd, chair; Daniel A. Herman, “The Use ofElectrostatic Probes to Characterize the Discharge Plasma Structureand Identify Discharge Cathode Erosion Mechanisms in Ring-CuspIon Thrusters,” Alec Gallimore, chair; Jack J. McNamara, “Aero-elastic and Aerothermoelastic Behavior of Two and Three Dimen-sional Lifting Surfaces in Hypersonic Flow,” Peretz Friedmann and Ken Powell, co-chairs; Jeffrey A. Sutton, “Mixture Fraction and Scalar Dissipation Rate Imaging in Turbulent NonpremixedFlames Near Extinction,” Jim Driscoll, chair.

August 2005: Jerold W. Emhoff, “Simulation of Ion Optics Using Partical-In-Cell and Treecode Methods,” Iain Boyd, chair;Hiroaki Fukuzwa, “Contributions to Robust Control of Systemswith Parametric Uncertainties,” Pierre Kabamba, chair; Li Liu, “BVI Induced Vibration and Noise Alleviation by Active and PassiveApproaches,” Peretz Friedmann, chair.

April 2005: Islam I. Hussein, “Motion Planning for Multi-Spacecraft Interferometric Imaging Systems,” Anthony Bloch and Dan Scheeres, co-chairs; Justin William Koo, “Hybrid PIC-MCCComputational Modeling of Hall Thrusters,” Iain Boyd, chair; Rafeal Palacios Nieto, “Asymptotic Models of Integrally-StrainedSlender Structures for High-Fidelity Nonlinear Aeroelastic Analysis,”Carlos Cesnik, chair; Jin Hyoung Oh, “Modeling, Identification,and Control of Rate-Independent and Rate-Dependent Hysteresis,”Dennis Bernstein, chair; Joseph F. Rakow, “ThermomechanicalResponse of Metal Foam Sandwich Panels for Structural ThermalProtection Systems in Hypersonic Vehicles,” Tony Waas, chair; Biju James Thuruthimattam (PhD AE/Scientific Computing),“Fundamental Studies in Hypersonic Aeroelasticity Using Computa-tional Methods,” Peretz Friedmann, chair; Mitchell Louis RonaldWalker, “Effect of Facility Backpressure on the Performance andPlume of a Hall Thruster,” Alec Gallimore, chair. n

Nick and Denise Bletsos

students competed in two competitions: a race down thelength of the FXB atrium, and a precision pointing and reconnaissance test using a wireless video camera.

The results were spectacular. The students learned bydirect experience. They were immersed in system engineeringissues and expressed an almost militant passion for the course.They learned the value of estimating, careful mass budgeting,human factors, practice and the importance of large fins.Curiously, to date each team has at best put on a very smallfin to stabilize the direction of their blimps. It isn’t untilrepeated attempts to manually stabilize the flight path domodifications that include larger fins take place.

The most recent course was supported by a grant from theBoeing Corporation. The courses’ infrastructure was obtainedby a variety of means from Lockheed Martin Corporation, aswell as NSF, AFRL and DoE labs. The course was developedby a variety of students who have since graduated. Mostnotably, Jennifer Szymusiak (BSAE ’05) built the first blimptwo years ago during a summer project. n

left: Course Instructor Pete Washabaugh helps with minor adjustments.

far left: each blimp was fashioned with a tiny camera with live video feeds.

Richard A. Auhll

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DEPARTMENT FACULTY AND STAFF

Luis P. BernalAssociate Professor, AE <lpb@umich.edu>

research interestsfluid mechanics, aerodynamics, turbulent shearflow, whole field flow measurement, and micro-gravity fluid physics.

UM AE Undergraduate Committee FacultyRepresentative and Undergraduate StudentAdvisor.

Dennis S. BernsteinProfessor, AE<dsbaero@umich.edu>

research intereststheory of linear and nonlinear systems, identification and data assimilation, optimal,robust, nonlinear, and adaptive control; applica-tion of aircraft, spacecraft, structures, vibrations,acoustics, combustion, and fluids.

Fellow of the IEEE.

Editor-in-Chief, IEEE Control Systems Magazine.

Iain D. BoydProfessor, AE<iainboyd@umich.edu>

research interestsnumerical simulation of aerospace systems involving nonequilibrium gas and plasma dynamics—spacecraft electric propulsion, hypersonic vehicles, rocket plumes, and micro-scale gas flows.

Associate Editor of Journal of Spacecraft andRockets.

UM College of Engineering OutstandingAchievement Award (2004).

Carlos E.S. Cesnik Associate Professor, AE<cesnik@umich.edu>

research interestsaeroelastic structures; active aeroelastic tailoring,vibration and noise reductions of helicopter rotorsystems; nonlinear active aeroelastic modeling andanalysis; structural health monitoring, diagnosisand prognosis.

UM AE Undergraduate Committee FacultyRepresentative and AIAA Student ChapterAdvisor.

Associate Editor, Journal of Fluids and Structures.

ASME-Boeing Structures and Materials Award(2002).

Werner J.A. DahmProfessor, AE<wdahm@umich.edu>

research interestsfluid dynamics, turbulent flow, turbulent combus-tion, supersonic combustion, laser diagnostic andscalar imaging techniques, microsystems, andmicrofulidics.

UM College of Engineering George M. HuebnerResearch Excellence Award (2005).

Associate Editor, AIAA Journal.

Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS),and the American Institute of Aeronautics andAstronautics (AIAA).

Member, Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.

James F. DriscollProfessor, AE<jamesfd@umich.edu>

research interestssupersonic combustion within scramjets in rocket-based combined-cycles, nitric oxide formation, and turbulent combustion.

Editor, Combustion and Flame.

Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics (AIAA).

Peretz P. Friedmann Françios-Xavier Bagnoud Professor, AE<peretzf@umich.edu>

research interestshelicopter and fixed-wing aeroelasticity; active control of helicopter vibration and noise,aeroelasticity and aerothermoelasticity of hyper-sonic vehicles, thermal protection system simula-tion, multidisciplinary design and optimization.

Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics (AIAA) and the AmericanHelicopter Society (AHS).

Associate Editor, Journal of the American HelicopterSociety and the AIAA Journal of Aircraft.

ASME/Boeing Structures and Material Award (2004).

Spirit of St. Louis Medal, the American Society ofMechanical Engineers (2003).

Alec D. GallimoreProfessor, AE<rasta@umich.edu>

research interestselectric propulsion, plasma diagnostics, spaceplasma simulation, electrode physics, and hyper-sonic aerodynamics/plasma interaction.

Director, Michigan Space Grant Consortium(NASA), UM.

Associate Editor, AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power.

Associate Dean for Academic Programs andInitiatives, Horace H. Rackham School ofGraduate Studies.

UM Trudy Huebner Service Excellence Award for teaching, research, and service (2005).

UM Harold R. Johnson Diversity Award for leadership in cultural diversity (2005).

Donald E. GeisterResearch Scientist and Lecturer, AE; Lecturer, ME<saag@umich.edu>

research interestsDesign and Manufacturing, including CAD,CAM, CNC systems: fuel systems, computercontrols; dynamics of air bag systems; brake cooling systems; wind tunnel testing: computercontrolled emission and engine performance systems; internal flow systems.

Director, Wilson Student Team Project Center, UM.

Pierre T. KabambaProfessor, AE<kabamba@umich.edu>

research interestscontrol theory, dynamics, guidance, navigation,and process control; linear and nonlinear dynamicsystems, robust control, guidance and navigation,and intelligent control.

Fellow of IEEE.

Associate Editor, Mathematical Problems inEngineering.

Member, College of Engineering ExecutiveCommittee.

C. William Kauffman Professor, AE<cwkauff@umich.edu>

research interestscombustion, propulsion, fires and explosions,compressible flow, experimental methods, accident investigation, Russian technology and education, flight vehicle design.

Michael Keidar Assistant Research Scientist, AE<keidar@umich.edu>

research interestsAdvanced propulsion, nanotechnology, plasmaprocessing, plasma physics, plasma-material interactions.

Senior Member of the American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and Member of the American Physical Society (APS).

Fulbright Fellowship (1997); International Unionfor Vacuum Science Award (1997); IEEEGraduate Student Award (1995).

N. Harris McClamroch Professor, AE<nhm@umich.edu>

research interestsflight dynamics and control, spacecraft attitudedynamics and control, nonlinear control, and geometric mechanics.

UM AE Undergraduate Committee Chair.

Fellow of IEEE.

Associate Editor at Large, IEEE Transactions onAutomatic Control.

Elaine Oran Adjunct Professor, AE<oran@lpc.nrl.nav>

research interestscomputational fluid dynamics, compressible,incompressible, and nonequilibium flows, chemically reactive flows, flames, deflagrations,and detonations, computations of rarefied gasflow, such as reentry flows and microdynamicalflows, microfluidics for design of biosensors.

Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics (AIAA) and the CombustionInstitute American Physical Society.

Editor-in-Chief, AIAA Journal; Editorial Board,Shock Waves; Editorial Board, American Journal of Physics.

Presidental Rank Award, Meritorious SeniorProfessional (2004).

Dryden Distinguished Lectureship in AerospaceResearch (2002) given by AIAA.

Zeldovich Gold Medal (2000) given by theCombustion Institute.

Kenneth G. Powell Professor, AE<powell@umich.edu>

research interestscomputational fluid dynamics, compressible flow,aerodynamics, numerical methods for plasmas,computational space physics.

Director, UM Center for Advanced Computing.

Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Professor Award (2005).

STAFF HIGHLIGHT

Margaret Fillion retired in August2004 after serving the departmentfor 44 years; for much of that timeshe was the graduate program coor-dinator for the department. To honorher for all of her many contributions,a retirement party was held under alarge tent set up next to the MayaLin Wave Field. Over 150 of herfriends attended the party, includingher family, many current and formergraduate students, staff colleagues,and current and retired Aerospacefaculty members. She was given several humorous gifts and photo-graphs, as well as a gift certificate for an Alaskan cruise that she andher sister had always wanted to take.Graduate students unable to attendsent messages thanking her for herhelp over the years.

Margaret was the person that allof the graduate students dependedupon to help them meet their degreerequirements and to get things done.She could often find ways to do theimpossible, and was known for herprofessional skills as the graduateprogram coordinator, as well as herexceptional ability to work with peo-ple. She unselfishly devoted herselfto the Department and the needs ofthe students. The Department willalways owe her a debt of gratitudefor all of her contributions! n

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Philip L. RoeProfessor, AE<philroe@umich.edu>

research interestscomputational fluid dynamics, magnetohydrody-namics, robust algorithms, adaptive grid genera-tion, stiff flow problems, two-phase flow, radiationtransport, and mathematical modeling of debrisdispersal.

Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics (AIAA).

Associate Editor, International Journal forNumerical Methods in Fluids.

Editor Emeritus, Journal of Computational Physics.

Daniel J. Scheeres Associate Professor, AE<scheeres@umich.edu>

research interestsastrodynamics, navigation and optimal control,dynamical astronomy, space science.

Associate Editor, Celestial Mechanics andDynamical Astronomy: An International Journal of Space Dynamics; Journal of the AstronauticalSciences (AAS); and Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics (AIAA).

John A. Shaw Associate Professor, AE<jashaw@umich.edu>

research interestsanalytical and experimental mechanics of solidsand structures, thermomechanical behavior ofshape memory alloys and adaptive structures,thermomechanical degradation of elastomericmaterials and structures, instabilities in materialsand structures.

Associate Editor, Continuum Mechanics andThermodynamics.

Wei ShyyClarence L. “Kelly” Johnson Collegiate Professor & Chair, AE<weishyy@umich.edu>

research interestscomputational and modeling techniques for fluiddynamics and heat/mass transfer, fluid-structureinteraction and moving boundary problems,biofluid dynamics, biological and low Reynoldsnumber flight vehicles, optimization of thermo-fluids systems.

Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics (AIAA) and the AmericanSociety of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Editor, Cambridge Aerospace Book Series(Cambridge University Press).

Associate Editor, ASME Applied MechanicsReviews, Acta Mechanica Sinca.

AIAA Pendary Aerospace Literature Award (2003).

ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (2005).

Nicolas TriantafyllidisProfessor, AE<nick@umich.edu>

research interestscontinuum mechanics, micromechanics, struc-tural mechanics, structural stability, manufactur-ing process modeling, numerical methods (f.e.m.),geomechanics, shape memory materials and magneto-electro-mechanical coupling problems in solids. Multi-scale problems and related stability issues in solid mechanics.

Fellow of the American Society of MechanicalEngineers (ASME).

Associate Editor, Journal of Applied Mechanics,and the International Journal of Solids andStructures.

Bram van LeerProfessor, AE<bram@umich.edu>

research interestscomputational fluid dynamics, fluid dynamics,numerical analysis.

UM AE Graduate Committee Chair.

Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronauticsand Astronautics (AIAA) and Sr. Fellow, MichiganSociety of Fellows.

Editor, Vieweg Verlag series “Notes on NumericalFluid Mechanics.”

Anthony M. WaasProfessor, AE/ME<dcw@umich.edu>

research interestsmechanics of aerospace structures and materials, composite structures, biologicallyinspired materials, and nanocomposites.

Fellow of the American Society of MechanicalEngineers (ASME).

Associate Editor, AIAA Journal and TheAeronautical Journal (UK).

Peter D. WashabaughAssociate Professor, AE<pete@umich.edu>

research interestsexperimental solid mechanics, fracture mechanics,instrumentation, non-destructive testing and optimization.

Margaret S. WooldridgeAssociate Professor, ME/AE<mswool@umich.edu>

research interestsadvanced power and propulsion generation strategies, including low temperature combustion,hydrogen utilization, combined cycle gasification,syngas, bio-derived fuels, reburn and co-firingtechnologies; reaction kinetics; aerosol samplingand transport; pollution mitigation; optical diagnostics; sensor development and combustionsynthesis.

College of Engineering Education ExcellenceAward 2003-2004, UM (2004).

Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power.

Thomas H. ZurbuchenAssociate Professor, AOSS/AE<thomasz@umich.edu>

research interestsSpace environment. Solar and heliosphericphysics, with emphasis on plasmas and energeticparticles in the heliosphere. Development of newparticle detector technologies for current andfuture space missions. Space mission design andperformance simulations. Space environmentcharacterization and technology effects.

Technical Support Staff

Chris Chartier, Sr. Engineering Technician<chartier@umich.edu>

Thomas Griffin, Supervisor, Laboratory Services<tgriffin@umich.edu>

Eric Kirk, Sr. Engineering Technician<erk@umich.edu>

Terry Larrow, Fabrication Specialist<larrow@umich.edu>

David McLean, IT Administrative Support<dmclean@umich.edu>

Office Support Staff

Sharon Bauerle, Secretary<mossad@umich.edu>

Bonnie Bryant, Research Administrator<blbryant@umich.edu>

Cindy Collins, Contract and Grants Specialist<cindygc@umich.edu>

Cindy Enoch, Secretary and Web Coordinator<enochc@umich.edu>

Debbie Laird, Undergraduate Student ServicesCoordinator <dcak@umich.edu>

Dorris Micou, Graduate Admissions and Curriculum Coordinator <dmicou@umich.edu>

Denise Phelps, Graduate Student ServicesCoordinator <dphelps@umich.edu>

Michelle Shepherd, Department Administrator<mshephrd@umich.edu>

Suzanne Smith, Administrative Assistant <sbgurney@umich.edu>

Lisa Szuma, Administrative Assistant to the Chair<lszuma@umich.edu>

EMERITI FACULTY

standing, left to right: Elmer G. Gilbert,Donald T. Greenwood, Thomas C. Adamson Jr.,William J. Anderson, Martin Sichel, HarmBuning, Joe G. Eisley. seated, left to right:James A. Nicholls, Robert M. Howe, Arthur F.Messiter Jr.