Dr. Helen Reed, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, was inducted into the inaugural class of the Academy of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Excellence at her alma mater Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on Oct. 22. Of the 34 inaugural inductees, Reed was the only female.
The Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering (AOE) at Virginia Tech launched the academy to recognize its highly accomplished alumni, faculty and friends for their contributions in the fields of aeronautics, astronautics and hydronautics. The launch coincides with the 90th year of aeronautics at the university. The academy will keep a collection of biographies on the AOE website to give current students an idea about the trajectory through an AOE career, including exciting projects and the importance of hard work and dedication.
Reed joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2004 and served as department head for four years before returning to teaching and research on a full-time basis. Widely regarded as an expert in hypersonics, boundary-layer stability and transition, energy efficient aircraft and small satellite design, Reed has led research projects totaling millions of dollars. Reed also directs the AggieSat Lab satellite program, a design-build-fly student satellite program housed within the department.
Reed is a consultant to the Institute for Defense Analysis and a member of the National Academies Air Force Studies Board Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group. She is also co-founder and chief technology officer for Chandah Space Technologies, a start-up company specializing in small satellite systems. She is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Texas.
She has received numerous professional awards and honors, including being named a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Physical Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). She received the Atwood Award from the American Society for Engineering Education and AIAA, the Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award from the State of Texas, and was inducted into the Academy of Engineering Excellence and the Committee of 100 in the college of engineering at Virginia Tech. In November 2016 she will receive the Kate Gleason Award from ASME. The award recognizes a female engineer who is a highly successful entrepreneur in a field of engineering or who has had a lifetime of achievement in the engineering profession.
In 2013 she was named a Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence (in perpetuity) as well as a Regents Professor (in perpetuity), and in 2014 she was awarded the Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching at the University level and was named holder of the Edward “Pete” Aldridge ’60 Professorship.
Reed earned an A.B. degree in mathematics from Goucher College, and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech.