The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced today that Daniel Guggenheim School faculty member Sandra Magnus and alumnus Nicholas Lappos have been elected to the Academy’s newest class. They are among this year’s 133 new members (including international selections). Magnus and Lappos are joined by Georgia Tech faculty members Christopher Jones (ChBE) and Nick Sahinidis (ISyE/ChBE) as inductees of the newly elected class and will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting in October.

Nicholas Lappos

“It’s an honor to congratulate Sandy and Nick on this momentous recognition of their decades-long work in the field of aerospace”, said William R. T. Oakes School Chair Mark F. Costello. “The AE School is incredibly proud of their commitment towards research and dedication to student mentorship.”     

Lappos (AE, 1973) is a Sikorsky Aircraft Senior Technical Fellow Emeritus in Advanced Technology, responsible for the Technical Fellow community and introduction of advanced technologies into new and existing products, and serves on the Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering School Advisory Council (AESAC).

During his career, he spent a total of 39 years at Sikorsky Aircraft, first as a flight test engineer then at the pilot office where he spent 27 years. He has flown over 70 different helicopters and amassed more than 7,500 flight hours. During his time at Sikorsky, he participated in the development of the S-76, UH-60 Black Hawk, RAH-66 Comanche, S-69 Advancing Blade Concept (ABC), S-76 Fantail, S-76 Shadow fly-by-wire demonstrator, CH-53E Super Stallion, and the S-92. In 2018, Lappos was selected for the prestigious 2019 Alexander A. Nikolsky Honorary Lectureship, awarded by the Vertical Flight Society (VFS). He is being recognized by NAE for “For improving rotary wing flight performance and serving as test pilot, engineer, inventor, technologist, and business leader.”

Sandra "Sandy" Magnus

Magnus (MSE, 1996) is a professor of the practice with joint appointments in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. She is currently a principal at AstroPlanetview LLC and is being recognized by NAE for “national accomplishments in the U.S. civil space program and in Department of Defense engineering and technology integration.”

As a NASA astronaut, Magnus flew to space three times and spent 157 days in orbit. Before joining NASA, Magnus worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company as a stealth engineer. After retiring as an astronaut, she served as executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Earlier this month, AIAA announced Magnus as an AIAA Fellow, which is awarded to preeminent individuals who have had long and highly contributory careers in aerospace and who embody the highest possible standards in aeronautics and astronautics.