Engineering's Awatef Hamed Wins 2008 J. Leland Atwood Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Professor Awatef Hamed has won the 2008 J. Leland Atwood Award, in honor of her outstanding work with engineering students at the University of Cincinnati and around the world. She received the award as part of the 47th American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

The award is jointly sponsored by American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and AIAA, and is presented to recognize a recent outstanding educational achievement and to encourage innovative improvements in aerospace education.

The qualifications for the Atwood Award are rigorous. This award recognizes the accomplishments of a superior aerospace engineering educator and his or her contributions to the profession and, therefore, requires demonstration of improvements of lasting influence to aerospace engineering education through

1. research, technical textbooks or the introduction of experimental courses or experimental instructional methods;
2. technical articles on education or the introduction of new laboratory or teaching equipment;
3. demonstration of success as a teacher and/or significant progress in aerospace engineering education and its administration; and
4. contributions and participation in pertinent educational and professional societies or other organizations important to aerospace engineering education.

The citation reads, “For contributions to the academic profession producing excellent engineers not just from the University of Cincinnati but everywhere.”

Hamed is indeed an inspiration to many engineers. She is one of only 16 women who received doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering in the 1970s. She received her PhD and master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati, following her bachelor’s degree from Cairo University (Egypt). In fact, Hamed was the first woman ever to be named as head of a college aerospace engineering department. 

Her specialty research areas in aircraft engines deal with flight safety through ice accretion simulations in modern turbofan engines, reducing environmental impact through computational aeroacoustics research, extending engine life and sustaining fuel economy through reducing the effects of erosion on turbomachinery performance, and supporting high-speed flight through intake and exhaust systems research for propulsion system integration.

Hamed is the Bradley Jones Professor and department head of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. She is also the director of the University's Intelligent Propulsion Center. Under her direction, student teams from the University of Cincinnati have won 10 Airbreathing Propulsion student design competitions.

Hamed is very active in organizations in her field and those dedicated to helping women in science. She is the editor of the International Journal of Computational Fluid Dynamics, the chair of the Aerospace Department Chair Association and the founder of the University of Cincinnati student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. In addition, Hamed is one of very few women who have been honored with the Fellow Award from both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Hamed is the executive secretary of the International Society for Airbreathing Engines, is the author of more than 200 technical papers, and has lectured around the world on the subject of airbreathing propulsion.

About the J. Leland Atwood Award
The AIAA and ASEE jointly sponsor the J. Leland Atwood award to recognize outstanding educational achievement and to encourage innovative improvements in aerospace education. The award was established in 1985 to honor the legacy of J. Leland "Lee" Atwood, an early aviation pioneer. Born in Walton, Ky., he later graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in civil engineering and played a major role in the development of aviation and aerospace technologies for more than 50 years. Atwood designed both the P-51 Mustang fighter and the B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber. Atwood retired as the head of North American Rockwell Corp., one of America's premier aviation companies.

About Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati
The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Cincinnati is the second-oldest aerospace department in the country. Its curriculum was developed with the help of Orville Wright and Neil Armstrong served on the faculty in the 1970s. In May 2008, a UC-led consortium was announced by Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut as part of $143 million in Ohio Research Scholar awards. UC’s Aerospace Engineering Department will lead a $28 million aerospace research program focusing on power and propulsion under a grant awarded as part of the state’s investment in research for economic development.