Amrutur Anilkumar, professor of the practice of mechanical engineering, and Sankaran Mahadevan, the John R. Murray Sr. Professor of Engineering, have been elected associate fellows in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
 L-R: Amrutur Anilkumar, Alan Lowrey, Lockheed Martin, and Region II Director of AIAA; and Sankaran Mahadevan. |
This grade is awarded to AIAA senior members who have demonstrated a successful practice in the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics. To be selected to the grade of associate fellow an individual must be an AIAA senior member with at least 12 years of professional experience in their field, and have been recommended by three or more AIAA members with associate fellow or AIAA fellow grade.
The professors were honored Jan. 9 at the AIAA Foundation Associate Fellows Dinner in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the 50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, where they were presented with the pins and certificates.
Anilkumar holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and aeronautics from the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories at the California Institute of Technology. He has been an investigator on NASA-sponsored microgravity experiments on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. He directs the Vanderbilt Aerospace Club, which has won national honors in NASA University Student Launch Competitions, and he is the faculty adviser of the Vanderbilt chapter of AIAA.
Mahadevan is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and professor of mechanical engineering. His research regarding automotive, aircraft and spacecraft systems, civil infrastructure systems and nuclear waste storage has the potential to save human lives and millions of dollars. His research has been funded by NSF, NASA, FAA, U. S. Department of Energy, U. S. Department of Transportation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U. S. Army Research Office, U.S. Air Force, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, General Motors, Chrysler, Union Pacific, Transportation Technology Center, and the Sandia, Los Alamos, Idaho and Oak Ridge national laboratories. Mahadevan earned his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech.