The Georgia Institute of Technology is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Vigor Yang as chair of the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, delivering a seasoned and accomplished researcher to lead the school to impressive new heights.

Dr. Yang will begin his tenure at Georgia Tech on January 1, 2009. Current chair, Professor Bob Loewy, will remain in the position through December 31, 2008.

The selection of Dr. Yang ends an extensive search to fill the position, which included several highly qualified candidates in the field of aerospace engineering.

"Dr. Yang's professional contributions and activities offer the School of Aerospace Engineering a national and international visibility that adds to our reputation," said Don Giddens, dean of the Georgia Tech College of Engineering. "His passion for research and ambition for the department set us on a course for new successes in academics and discovery."

Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1984. He spent a year as a research fellow in the Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech before joining the faculty of Pennsylvania State University in 1985. He is currently the John L. and Genevieve H. McCain Chair of Engineering at Penn State, teaching classes on thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, propulsion, combustion and mathematics.

"It is with a deep sense of humility and honor that I accept the responsibility of chair for the School of Aerospace Engineering," Yang said. "The position is challenging, but also exciting. My top priority is to continue the traditions of excellence at the school in both teaching and research, as well as in service. The Aerospace Engineering school already has a wonderful reputation for excellence, but I hope that I can work to further advance educational goals."

Currently, eight graduate students are working under Dr. Yang's direction at Penn State. He has previously supervised 35 Ph.D. and 15 M.S. theses.

Dr. Yang's research interests include combustible instabilities in propulsion systems, chemically reacting flows in rocket engines and high-pressure thermodynamics and transport. His accolades include the Penn State Engineering Society Outstanding Teaching and Premier Research Awards and several publication and technical awards from The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), including the Air-Breathing Propulsion and Pendray Aerospace Literature Awards.

Boasting more than 300 technical papers he has authored or co-authored, Dr. Yang has functioned as the editor-in-chief of the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power since 2001. He also serves on the editorial advisory boards of Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves, the Journal of Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Aviation, the Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers and the JANNAF Journal of Propulsion and Energetics. He has consulted with several industrial and governmental organizations, including NASA, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Siemens, Aerojet and Rolls Royce.

U.S. News and World Report currently ranks the Guggenheim School fourth in graduate programs and second in undergraduate programs.