4/9/2013 Written by Carol Stewart, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Written by Written by Carol Stewart, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The award was presented during the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala on May 13, 2009, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington D.C. The Medal recognizes Dowell for pioneering contributions to nonlinear aeroelasticity, structural dynamics and unsteady aerodynamics that had a significant influence on aeronautics, and for contributions to education and public service in aerospace engineering.
Since 1983, Dowell has been the William Holland Hall Professor, Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. Prior to this he was Professor at Princeton University and Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Throughout his career, Dowell continued vibrant research activities and made outstanding and lasting seminal contributions providing solutions to some of the most important problems in aeroelasticity, unsteady aerodynamics and structural dynamics. These endeavors led to major contribution to the flight safety of fighter aircraft and have also had a major impact on the design of both military and civilian aircraft.
In addition to his research, Dowell made extraordinary contributions to engineering education especially as a former Dean of Engineering at Duke University where he had major impact on not only the development of the school unprecedented prominence but also on countless graduate students. Throughout his distinguished career, Dowell also participated generously with professional service and service on high-level advisory panels including the Air Force and NASA.
Dowell is the principal author of the leading textbook in aeroelasticity, A Modern Course in Aeroelasticity, now in its 4th edition, and also a co-author of the now classic Aeroelasticity of Plates and Shells, and of the most recent Dynamics of Very High Dimensional Systems.Additionally, he is the author or co-author of over 250 technical papers.
Dowell’s honors include AIAA Honorary Fellow, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics, elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, past president of the American Academy of Mechanics, current service on the National Research Council, and others. His accomplishments have been recognized with the AIAA Walter J. and Angelina H. Crichlow Trust Prize, ASME Spirit of St. Louis Medal, AIAA Theodore von Kármán Lectureship in Astronautics, AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Award, and the American Academy of Mechanics Distinguished Service Award.
The Daniel Guggenheim Medal, jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineering, American Helicopter Society, and Society of Automotive Engineers, was established in 1929 for the purpose of honoring persons who make notable achievements in the advancements of aeronautics.
The Guggenheim Board of Award, consisting of representatives from each of the four sponsoring societies, is administered by AIAA. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.