April 15, 2024
Ten Texas Engineering alumni of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (ASE/EM) at The University of Texas at Austin have been elected to the 2024 class of the ASE/EM Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
The ASE/EM Academy of Distinguished Alumni was established in 2019 with the vision to foster excellence within the aerospace engineering, engineering mechanics and computational engineering programs in the ASE/EM department through recognition, participation, encouragement and support of the department.
Members are recognized and honored by the academy for leading distinguished careers that include outstanding technical contributions, excellence in leadership and dedication to improving communities.
This year’s class of distinguished alumni includes space tech leaders in government and industry, an astronaut, a professor, pilots, entrepreneurs and more. A new category for electing young alumni to the academy was introduced this year as well, with Payam Banazadeh as the inaugural recipient.
The members elected to the ASE/EM Academy of Distinguished Alumni for 2024 are:
Peter G. Antreasian, Flight Director, KinetX Aerospace
Payam Banazadeh (Outstanding Young Alumnus), Founder, Capella Space
Steven J. Beresh, Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
Andrea Chavez, Bell Engineering Talent Management Team, University and STEM Collaborations, Bell Flight
John E. Cochran, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Auburn University
Barbara Craig, Vice President and Director of Research & Development, Ticom Geomatics, Inc. (retired)
John W. Hicks, Hypersonics Expert, NASA (retired)
Susan Kelly, Director of Software Engineering, Raytheon (retired)
Andreas Mogensen, Astronaut, European Space Agency
Carolyn Overmyer, Director, Orion Chief Engineer, Lockheed Martin Space
A banquet and ceremony was held on April 19 to recognize these alumni for their achievements and to officially induct them into the academy.
Several of the new inductees also participated in an inaugural alumni panel in the ASE Building that same afternoon, where they shared their experiences about teamwork, communication and collaboration in the aerospace industry with our students.
View the full list of 2024 inductees and their bios on our website.
