Joining the faculty in 1970, Dr. Walter Haisler was an outstanding and dedicated teacher, an internationally recognized researcher, and a willing provider of meritorious service to the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M for over 41 years. Haisler is recognized by former students and faculty as an outstanding teacher and as one who considers teaching and education as the most important function of faculty at the university. Haisler’s research is internationally recognized, with his interests lying in structural mechanics, finite element methods, inelastic material behavior, numerical methods, dynamics and geophysical modeling. He mentored 25 master's and 10 Ph.D. graduates. Haisler served as department head from 1985-1995, and again as interim department head from 2003-2004.
He has earned a number of faculty and teaching awards, including two student awards, four college awards and the AFS Award for Excellence in Teaching. In recognition of his contributions and service, Dr. Haisler was awarded the Charles W. Crawford Service Award twice and the Texas A&M University College of Engineering Faculty Fellow Award. He was named an AIAA Associate Fellow, an ASCE Fellow and an AAS Fellow.