Former chair of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust and Vanderbilt Law School alumnus Mark F. Dalton, JD’75, has established a faculty director position to bolster innovative hands-on learning in aerospace design.
The inaugural Mark Dalton Faculty Director of Experiential Learning in Aerospace Engineering is Amrutur “A.V.” Anilkumar, professor of the practice of aerospace engineering and director of the Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Lab. Anilkumar has served as the faculty adviser to Vanderbilt teams that have won numerous national and international aerospace engineering awards over the past two decades.
“I am so appreciative of Professor Anilkumar’s commitment to our Vanderbilt ethos of team-based discovery,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “One of the hallmarks of a Vanderbilt education is being able to translate classroom theory into real-world action, and our award-winning aerospace teams truly embody this spirit of innovative learning and bold thinking.”
Dalton—a longtime Vanderbilt supporter who has served in a variety of leadership roles for the university—established the Dalton Vanderbilt Aerospace Design Laboratory Fund in 2022 to support the rocket team and its work. This latest gift extends those efforts. Since its inception, more than 100 alumni have participated in VADL activities. Many of them are now pursuing advanced studies in the field or working in the space industry.