Srinath Ekkad, R.J. Reynolds Distinguished Professor and head of the College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), has accepted the position of dean of engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, effective Aug. 5. His last day at NC State University will be Aug. 1.

“It was my honor and pleasure to be the head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering here at NC State University,” Ekkad said. “I believe the department is well placed to crack the upper echelon of programs in the next few years. I will certainly miss the MAE department, NC State and the Research Triangle Park area. It has been a great ride and many life-long friendships have been carved here.”

 Ekkad has led the MAE department since 2017. During his nine years at NC State, he has guided the department to increased undergraduate and graduate enrollment and more than doubled its research expenditures. He has led strategic efforts to build new research teams in target areas such as ultrasonics in biomedical applications, urban air mobility, hypersonics and advanced manufacturing.

Under his leadership, the department’s graduate aerospace engineering program and undergraduate mechanical engineering programs are both currently ranked in the top 25 by the U.S. News & World Report. The number of faculty has grown from 46 in 2017 to 62 current faculty members, and the department’s undergraduate student body has grown by 25% since 2022.

“We are grateful to Dr. Ekkad for his service and leadership of the MAE department, and we wish him all the best in his next steps,” said Veena Misra, interim dean of the College of Engineering. “He has led the MAE department through a period of tremendous growth that is helping to meet North Carolina’s need for more highly skilled aerospace and mechanical engineers.”

Ekkad is nationally recognized for his contributions in the development of detailed heat transfer and combustion measurements, particularly inside gas turbines, for applications in power generation and aerospace propulsion. He has published over 250 journal and conference articles, been issued three patents, and co-authored a book and three book chapters.

Ekkad was named a 2025 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also an Elected Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, an Elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Prior to joining NC State, Ekkad was the Rolls Royce Commonwealth Professor for Aerospace Propulsion Systems and the associate vice president for research at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. He previously spent nine years on the faculty at Louisiana State University and started his career as a senior product engineer at Rolls-Royce North America. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, his M.S. from Arizona State University and his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University, all in mechanical engineering.

An interim department head will be named in the coming days, and the college will conduct a comprehensive search for Ekkad’s replacement.

This post was originally published in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.