Selig Elected AIAA Associate Fellow

2/12/2014 Susan Mumm, Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Media Specialist

Michael Selig is a new Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Written by Susan Mumm, Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Media Specialist

Michael Selig
Michael Selig
Michael Selig
Prof. Michael Selig has been awarded the distinction of Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for his outstanding work in the field of aerospace engineering and as a leader in aerospace engineering education.

Selig was presented with his Associate Fellow pin and certificate at the AIAA Associate Fellows Dinner on January 13, 2014, at the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel and Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland, in conjunction with the AIAA 2014 SciTech Forum.

According to the AIAA, Associate Fellows must have accomplished or been in charge of important engineering or scientific work, or have done work of outstanding merit or have otherwise made outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.

Selig leads the UIUC Applied Aerodynamics Group and publishes widely in the areas of low-speed aerodynamics, low Reynolds number aerodynamics, airfoil design, wind energy, wind tunnel testing and real-time flight simulation, including aircraft icing upset simulation and modeling. His aerodynamics research and design expertise has been applied to unmanned aerial vehicles/systems, kilowatt thru multi-megawatt scale wind turbines, record breaking solar powered aircraft, appendage design and wing-sail design for the America's Cup, front and rear wing designs in motorsports (CART and Formula 1), and many other areas. His codes and methods for airfoil design and wind turbine blade design are used in both the aerospace and wind turbine industries. His airfoil designs and data are available in the open/online literature and used worldwide in the RC and UAV/UAS arenas.

He and his collaborators have published over 120 articles, books, and conference papers, and over 40 technical reports. Selig holds four patents and has one patent pending.

He teaches courses in Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, and Aircraft Flight Mechanics. His teaching honors include Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising (2010) and the UIUC List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by their Students (for AE 416 Applied Aerodynamics, 2005).

Research honors include the AIAA Co-Founder Award for the AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition (2007), LSF Le Gray Award for “For Outstanding Service to Soaring” – for his continuing experiments in low Reynolds number airfoil designs (2005), American Wind Energy Association, Wind Energy Academic Award given in recognition of exceptional contributions to the advancement of wind energy technology (2002), NASA TGIR Award “Revolutionize Aviation” to Aircraft Icing Project Team (2001), Sigma Gamma Tau Aerospace Engineering National Honor Society (inducted 1999), UIUC Campus Research Board Award (1994), Department of Energy Summer Faculty Fellowship Award (1993).

Selig earned a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois (1984), a M.S.E. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University (1988), and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State (1992).

According to the AIAA website, “The individuals comprising this year’s class of Associate Fellows represent outstanding achievement and leadership in the international aerospace community. Each can be very proud of their accomplishments, and their admittance to the rank,” said AIAA President Mike Griffin. “Their creativity, ingenuity and relentless pursuit of excellence have ignited the spark of progress within our community, and each helps make our world better for all humanity.”
 


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This story was published February 12, 2014.