Dr. Hernando Jimenez, a member of AE’s research faculty, has been elected chairman of the Aircraft Design Technical Committee (ADTC) of the American Institute of Aeronatuics and Astronautics (AIAA), a term that will begin May 1.

A native of Bogata, Colombia, Jimenez earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech and now serves as a research engineer with the Aerospace Systems Design Lab(ASDL).

Jimenez has been involved with ADTC in various capacities since 2007, most recently as the committee's vice chairman.

The ADTC is charged with promoting the discipline of aircraft design in the field of aerospace engineering. The committee actively communicates with thought leaders, academics, and upcoming generations of students, as well as diverse elements of the aircraft design community.

“We are a very active committee, and this is possible only because our members are tremendously motivated and passionate about aircraft design,” he said.

“Working with them as champions of aircraft design is very rewarding. I look forward to continue serving the AIAA, harnessing the talent and enthusiasm of the committee’s members in support of the institute’s response to current challenges in the aerospace profession.“

Jimenez’s first official duties as chair will put him front and center later this spring, when the AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition (AVIATION 2014) comes to Atlanta, June 16-20. His committee will oversee part of the awards ceremony and will present 13 technical paper sessions.

At Georgia Tech, Jimenez leads ASDL’s research on unmanned aircraft systems integration into the national airspace. His research interests center on systems analysis and design, primarily with regards to uncertainty quantification and non-deterministic approaches, aircraft performance and design, modeling and analysis of the national airspace, and analytical extensions of systems engineering.

Much of his recent work pertains to integrated UAS airspace operations and aircraft systems analysis for environmental impact mitigation. In the last year he has also led research efforts under the FAA’s new center of excellence on general aviation, PEGASAS, where he also serves a deputy site director for Georgia Tech.