February 17, 2011 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Walter J. and Angeline H. Crichlow Trust Prize has been won by Dr. Chin-Teh Sun, Neil Armstrong Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
Dr. Sun will receive the award at a noon awards luncheon Wednesday, April 6, in conjunction with the AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, taking place April 4-7 at the Sheraton Denver, Denver, Colo. He is being honored for "pioneering developments in damage tolerant design in composite structural mechanics and for seminal contributions to academic programs in composite structures and materials."
The AIAA Walter J. and Angeline H. Crichlow Trust Prize, one of AIAA's highest honors, is presented by AIAA every four years for excellence in aerospace materials, structural design, structural analysis, or structural dynamics. The award includes a $100,000 honorarium.
Among Dr. Sun's most notable contributions have been to the fundamental understanding of impact damage, the failure of composite structures, and plastic and viscoelastic behavior. He has been perhaps the most prolific academic contributor to the field of aerospace composite structural mechanics during the past four decades, and his work has influenced composite aerospace structures by nearly all of the major U.S. aerospace firms.
AIAA president Dr. Mark Lewis, chair of the aerospace engineering department at the University of Maryland, stated: "On behalf of the members and staff of AIAA, I congratulate Dr. Chin-Teh Sun on his being named the winner of the AIAA Walter J. and Angeline H. Crichlow Trust Prize. Dr. Sun's research has been groundbreaking, including significant contributions to our understanding of composite structures and so-called 'smart' materials. He has also been a dedicated educator who has helped train the next generation of leaders in the field. Dr. Sun's commitment to excellence and innovation makes this award a fitting tribute."
Sun joined the Purdue University faculty in 1968, and began one of the nation's first composite materials laboratories, at the same time he began to teach the nation's first course on composite materials. He was named Neil A. Armstrong Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue in 1996.
Among his many other honors and awards, Sun was the inaugural recipient of the AIAA-ASC James H. Starnes Award for leadership in structures and materials, and was awarded the 2007 ASME Warner T. Koiter Medal for leadership in the international solid mechanics community; the AIAA 1997 Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Award; and the 1995 Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials.
For more information on the Walter J. and Angeline H. Crichlow Trust Prize, or on the AIAA Honors and Awards program, please contact Carol Stewart at carols@aiaa.org or 703.264.7623.
AIAA is the world's largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. With more than 35,000 individual members worldwide, and 90 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.
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