AIAA Welcomes New AIAA President Basil Hassan Written 19 May 2020
May 19, 2020 – Reston, Va. – The new president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Basil Hassan, begins his 2020–2022 term this week.
Hassan is director of the Chief Research Office at Sandia National Laboratories.
“We are pleased to welcome Basil Hassan as AIAA’s new president,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “He begins his term at a pivotal moment in the aerospace industry as we adapt to the changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic and rise to the challenge of the recovery to follow. Leadership will be essential to guide the aerospace community in transforming what we have learned during this downturn into a stronger future.
“Basil is committed to growing AIAA’s membership, increasing the aerospace workforce, and engaging with the broader aerospace community. AIAA is also launching new events and changing traditional in-person forums into virtual ones to ensure technical advancements continue. For example, AIAA will have its first fully virtual forum, the AVIATION Forum, next month. AIAA also is expanding into the space economy with ASECND in November. This event draws across the space ecosystem in a way that hasn’t been done before. It is an exciting time to be a part of AIAA. You’ll learn more about Basil’s plans in his first Flight Path column in the June edition of Aerospace America.”
Hassan leads Sandia’s research strategy development including the execution of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program and oversees Sandia’s external partnership and technology transfer programs. He has been employed at Sandia since 1993 and has managed all phases of research, development, and applications work. He has focused predominately on the thermal, fluid, and aero science technology areas helping Sandia to accomplish its national security mission.
Hassan has served in a variety of positions in research and development (R&D) in the areas of aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics of high-speed flight vehicles, drag reduction for low-speed ground transportation vehicles, and high-velocity oxygen fuel thermal sprays. He has overseen all aspects of engineering sciences R&D and applications work at Sandia. Most notably, he helped support NASA in determining the cause of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in 2003 and was part of the team that shutdown the Deepwater Horizon oil well after the explosion and spill in 2010.
He is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1988, his Master’s degree in 1990, and his Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1993.
Media contact: Michele McDonald, michelem@aiaa.org, 703.264.7542
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.