On Friday December 14, 2017 at 3:00 PM in The McKimmon Center, the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering welcomed family and friends of our Fall 2017 graduates. We celebrated the hard work and dedication of our 18 graduating doctoral, 67 master, and 59 bachelor degree students.
Our commencement speaker was Dr. Richard Wahls. He is the senior technical and strategy advisor to the Director of NASA Aeronautics’ Advanced Air Vehicles Program. He leads, manages, and technically contributes to multidisciplinary fundamental research advancing the energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of advanced transport aircraft, and to applied research and development of tools, technologies, and concepts for all vehicle classes from subsonic through supersonic speeds. Dr. Wahls received his B.S. (1984), M.S. (1986), and Ph.D. (1989) degrees from NC State University in aerospace engineering. In 1984, he received the AIAA Outstanding Student Achievement Award from NCSU Chapter. And in 2017, he was inducted into the Mechanical and Aerospace Department’s Alumni Hall of Fame.