AIAA Announces its Class of 2023 Honorary Fellows and Fellows Written 13 February 2023

FellowsCeremony-Gala2022

Members of the Class of 2022 AIAA Fellows are introduced at the 2022 AIAA Awards Gala in Washington, DC. | Credit: AIAA–©

Three Honorary Fellows and 28 Fellows Elected

February 13, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) proudly congratulates its newly elected Class of 2023 Honorary Fellows and Fellows. The three new Honorary Fellows and 28 new Fellows will be inducted at a ceremony on Wednesday, 17 May, in Arlington, Virginia. AIAA will celebrate the new Honorary Fellows and Fellows during the AIAA Awards Gala, Thursday, 18 May, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts*, Washington, DC. Tickets for the AIAA Awards Gala are available now.

“The Class of 2023 AIAA Honorary Fellows and Fellows are among the best minds in the aerospace profession. I commend each member of this year’s Class for their many accomplishments,” said Laura McGill, AIAA President. “These distinguished individuals have earned the respect and gratitude of our broad science and engineering community. We are in awe of their creativity and exceptional contributions to advance the performance and capability of aerospace systems.”

Honorary Fellow is the highest distinction conferred by AIAA and recognizes preeminent individuals who have had long and highly contributory careers in aerospace and who embody the highest possible standards in aeronautics and astronautics. In 1933, Orville Wright became the first AIAA Honorary Fellow. Today, AIAA Honorary Fellows and AIAA Fellows are the most respected names in the aerospace industry.

AIAA confers the distinction of Fellow upon individuals in recognition of their notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics. Nominees are AIAA Associate Fellows. Since the inception of this honor, 2,036 distinguished persons have been elected as a Fellow.

“AIAA takes great pride in honoring the Class of 2023 Honorary Fellows and Fellows. These professionals have made significant and lasting contributions to the aerospace community. Their passion and dedication are inspiring the generations that follow to reach even greater heights,” added Dan Dumbacher, AIAA Executive Director.

For more information on the AIAA Honors Program, AIAA Honorary Fellows, or AIAA Fellows, contact Patricia A. Carr at patriciac@aiaa.org.

2023 AIAA Honorary Fellows
Mark Drela, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
James G. Maser, Aerojet Rocketdyne
William A. Sirignano, University of California, Irvine

2023 AIAA Fellows
Behçet Açıkmeşe, University of Washington
Steven J. Beresh, Sandia National Laboratories
Charles F. Bolden Jr., The Charles F. Bolden Group
Helmut Ciezki, DLR - German Aerospace Center
Capt. Meredith B. Colket III, Combustion Consulting Services, LLC, United Technologies Research Center (retired)
Daniel DeLaurentis, Purdue University
Christopher D'Souza, NASA Johnson Space Center
Ismet Gursul, University of Bath
Kauser S. Imtiaz, NASA
R. Steven Justice, The Ginn Group
Raymond M. Kolonay, Air Force Research Laboratory
Rodney Makoske, Lockheed Martin
Jill Marlowe, NASA 
Pamela Melroy, NASA
David G. Mitchell, Mitchell Aerospace Research
Eugene Morelli, NASA Langley Research Center
Scott E. Palo, University of Colorado Boulder
Surendra Sharma, NASA Ames Research Center
Robert T.-I. Shin, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Rickey J. Shyne, NASA Glenn Research Center
Leena Singh, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Michael Sinnett, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Lawrence W. Stephens, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
Mitchell L.R. Walker II, Georgia Institute of Technology
Brian L. Wardle, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michael E. White, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Michael Winter, Pratt & Whitney
Thomas H. Zurbuchen, NASA (retired)

*Please note that this event is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center.

Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, RebeccaG@AIAA.org, 804-397-5270

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, and follow AIAA on TwitterFacebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.