UTA aerospace engineering professor named Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics
Frank Lu, a professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington, has been named a Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.
He is the first UTA faculty member to earn the honor.
Lu, who is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and the Royal Aeronautical Society, was cited by AIAA for “sustained contributions in gasdynamics and detonation-based technologies, and development of novel experimental facility and measurement techniques.” He will be formally inducted at the organization’s Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala May 3 in Washington, D.C.
“I am honored and very pleased to be elected an AIAA Fellow,” Lu said. “To be recognized by one’s peers in such a fashion is a humbling acknowledgement of a lifetime of work.”
Lu joined the UTA College of Engineering in 1987 and has been the director of the University’s Aerodynamics Research Center since 1993. He has secured more than $6 million in research funding during his career in the areas of fluid dynamics, shock and viscous phenomena, aerodynamic heating, jets and sprays, supersonic and hypersonic flows, propulsion, detonation, fuel reformation and power production, fail-safe construction, shape memory alloys, natural convection, flow visualization, and instrumentation and facility development. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 journal articles, conference papers and other publications, and has mentored dozens of graduate and undergraduate students during his tenure at UTA. In addition, he holds seven U.S. patents.
“This is a remarkable recognition of Professor Lu’s accomplishments, standing and professional service within the aerospace community,” said Erian Armanios, chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. “It is also an acknowledgement of his leadership of the Aerodynamics Research Center, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, and of UTA’s unique place in aerospace research and education.”
With more than 30,000 individual members from 88 countries, and 95 corporate members, AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. One Fellow for every 1,000 voting members is elected each year, and nearly 1,900 members have earned the honor since it was first awarded in 1934.
-- written by Jeremy Agor
About The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 “highest research activity” institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000, UTA is one of the largest institutions in the state of Texas. Guided by its Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research and education within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times’ 2017 Best for Vets list.