Michigan Aerospace welcomes new members to the Industry Advisory Board

The Aerospace Department is pleased to announce that our Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) recently welcomed eight new members at the 2022 IAB annual meeting. The board is composed of industry professionals, some esteemed Michigan alumni, who are helping Michigan Aerospace identify industry trends and strategies to help the department address the research and educational opportunities in the field.

“Leveraging our industry connections in strategic directions for the department has been instrumental in providing opportunities for research and education in areas that resonate with industry. This helps us stay connected with essential questions we collectively need to ask to advance science and aerospace development. This important group is helping us achieve our big picture goals,” comments Anthony M. Waas, Richard A. Auhll Department Chair and Felix Pawlowski Collegiate Professor, Aerospace Engineering.
New members were chosen because of their expertise and dedication to making Michigan Aerospace’s legacy the best it can be.

They include:

Over the last two years, IAB members have been helping the department develop their strategic plan and vision for the next decade. The plan focuses on sustainable aviation, commercial space, a flexible undergraduate academic program, digital engineering, advanced air mobility and resilient autonomous systems. New IAB members who concentrate in these areas will add value to the next steps as the plan continues to be implemented.

Continued thanks to existing board members:

• Karen Albrecht, Retired Lockheed Martin Executive
• Mauro J. Atalla, UTC Aerospace Systems
• Richard Auhll, Surgical Eye Expeditions
• Aisha Bowe, StemBoard
• Corey G. Brooker, Human Space Flight – Project Orion
• Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX
• Jennifer Duke, Pratt & Whitney
• Kathryn Elliott, Rolls-Royce
• Debra Facktor, AIRBUS U.S. Space & Defense, Inc.
• Michael Hess, NASA
• Trudy Kortes, NASA
• Stephen McGillivary, Boeing Research & Technology
• Dan Patt, Vecna Robotics
• Khaled Shahwan, Stellantis, Chrysler Technology Center
• Tia Sutton, Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association (TEMA)
• Raenaurd Turpin, Boeing

Special thanks to board members whose terms have recently ended:

• Dr. Kevin Michaels, former board chair and 2022 Department Merit Award recipient
• Juan Carlos Ortiz
• Marc Fisher
• Jeff Hamstra
• Bill Walsh
• Jim De Boer

“The importance of advisors in the workforce cannot be overstated. Without them, we are blind as to the direction our creations are taking us. We need them to steer our technology not only into the future, but into a better world. Our department is now more prepared than ever to tackle the challenges innovation in aerospace may bring,” said our department chair, Anthony Wass. “I have no doubt that we are in good hands.”