Professor Joseph Oefelein has been selected as the associate chair for undergraduate programs in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering (AE School). In his new role, Oefelein will lead the AE School’s undergraduate program, grow advisement, as well as support undergraduate student initiatives. The AE School’s undergraduate program was recently named the number one undergraduate program for aerospace engineering by the U.S. News & World Report. Oefelein replaces AE Professor Stephen Ruffin, who was recently named associate dean for academic affairs for the Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE).

“I’m looking forward to working with students, our academic staff, colleagues, the school leadership, and the institute to continually advance the School of Aerospace Engineering’s elite standing and reputation. Providing the best training and experience possible for our students in an inclusive and diverse environment that eliminates barriers and brings out the best of everything we do will always be a major goal,” said Oefelein.

Prospective and current students can expect new initiatives that introduce advanced interactive learning strategies in the classroom and involve more students in research to provide broad and in-depth experience at all levels. The AE School currently has approximately 1,400 students, and that number is steadily growing each year due to the continued growth in aerospace science and engineering and related STEM disciplines.

Professor Oefelein is actively engaged in research on a broad range of topics in simulation and modeling of advanced propulsion, power, and related systems. His expertise is interdisciplinary, with a focus on the theory and analysis of complex fluid flows where turbulence interacts with a multitude of strongly coupled fluid dynamic, thermodynamic, transport, chemical, multiphase, and/or heat transfer processes. He is active in several professional societies including The Combustion Institute, American Physical Society (APS), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).