Dr. John Valasek

Dr. John Valasek, associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and director of the Vehicle Systems and Control Laboratory at Texas A&M University, received the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Award for 2009 from the aerospace engineering department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

The award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in the field of aerospace engineering, was presented in a ceremony at the department’s 15th Annual Alumni & Student Awards Banquet, held June 6. Valasek was also the featured speaker at the banquet and presented results of his current research at Texas A&M.

Valasek has been with the Texas A&M aerospace engineering department for 12 years, where his research and teaching is focused on bridging the gap between traditional computer science topics and aerospace engineering topics. His interests encompass machine learning and multi-agent systems, intelligent autonomous control, vision based navigation systems, fault tolerant adaptive control, and cockpit systems and displays.

Valasek is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), member of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), and member of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). He has received several teaching and education awards, including the university-level Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching in 2008, the college-level Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching in 2004, Scholar Of The Montague Center For Teaching Excellence in 2001, the B.P. Amoco Teaching Excellence Award in 2001 and 2003, and the Thomas U. McElmurry Teaching Excellence Award in the aerospace engineering department in 2001 and 2004. From 2006 to 2009 he served as the national president of Sigma Gamma Tau, the aerospace engineering honor society, and he received the National Faculty Advisor Award from AIAA in 2005.

Valasek earned the B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 1986, and the M.S. degree with honors and the Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas, in 1991 and 1995 respectively.

Contact Dr. John Valasek, valasek@tamu.edu

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