The Department Head of NC State University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was named Fellow of the The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) on Thursday, joining just two faculty members in the department to receive the prestigious honor.
Srinath Ekkad, who has served as MAE’s department head since 2017, is one of just 28 members of the AIAA 2024 Class of Fellows, and one of only 2,064 individuals to ever be elected to the distinguished role. Also announced Thursday were four 2024 AIAA Honorary Fellows – the first of whom was Orville Wright, elected in 1933.
Prior to his arrival at MAE, Ekkad served as Rolls-Royce Professor for Aerospace Systems at Virginia where I was also the Associate VP for Research Programs and Director for the Rolls-Royce University Technology Center for Advanced System Diagnostics.
“The Class of 2024 AIAA Honorary Fellows and Fellows are among the most respected names in the aerospace profession. Congratulations to each member of this year’s class for their many accomplishments,” AIAA President Laura McGill said in the announcement. “These distinguished individuals have earned the respect and admiration 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.”
Upon his election, Ekkad joins MAE’s Director of Aerospace Research and Angel Family Distinguished Professor Jack Edwards along with the newly appointed Hassan A. Hassan Distinguished Professor Farhan Gandhi as the only MAE faculty members to receive AIAA Fellowship.
AIAA confers 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 – a title that Ekkad had held since 2019.
His research background lies in fundamental thermal-fluid science with emphasis on experimental methods. His area of application expertise is in gas turbine and thermal management of systems and he has worked extensively on various projects dealing with cooling and heat transfer technology relating to turbine engines, automotive systems, energy harvesting and power plant systems.
Ekkad was also recently elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) in May of 2023, and has been a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) since 2009.
This post was originally published in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
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