{"427061":{"#nid":"427061","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AE salutes Prof. Alan Wilhite","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile students sweated through their finals Thursday afternoon, the faculty and staff of the School of Aerospace Engineering gave a spirited send-off to Dr. Alan Wilhite who officially retired from his positions at Georgia Tech and NASA.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENamed to the Langley Distinguished Professorship of Aerospace Engineering in 2004, Wilhite carried out his Georgia Tech teaching duties at the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) in Hampton, Virginia, where he also conducted research in systems engineering, space exploration systems, robust design, aerodynamics, propulsion, multidisciplinary optimization, operations, cost, and risk.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite his absence from the day-to-day happenings at the Atlanta campus, Wilhite exerted a positive influence on his GT-AE colleagues and students, several of whom spoke at Thursday\u0027s event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00225\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWilhite is joined by former GT-AE\u0026nbsp;Professor John Olds and a former student\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027ve always been able to count on you to bring the relevance and rigor of your NASA training to benefit our students,\u0022 said Yang. \u0022You have made us stronger as a school.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Coming down here (Atlanta) on a regular basis and being a part of our campus, you showed enormous professionalism,\u0022 said Associate Chair Jeff Jagoda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I just traveled up to Langley a few weeks ago, and I gotta tell you: that\u0027s no fun. But we\u0027d never know that when you showed up on campus, and for that, we thank you.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Robert \u0022Bobby\u0022 Braun first met Wilihite when the two worked at NASA\u0027s Langley Center. He credited his longtime colleague with changing the course of his career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027d probably only been working there about a year and a half when Alan said to me \u0027You gotta get out of here. Go to Stanford. Get your Ph.D.\u0027,\u0022 said Braun.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00225\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAE Professor Robert \u0022Bobby\u0022\u0026nbsp;Braun credited Wilhite with convincing the then-graduate student to pursue a doctorate when the two were working at NASA\u0026nbsp;Langley.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022At the time NASA was paying for school, but I hadn\u0027t really thought about it. Alan pushed me, and it really turned out to be a gift. I owe him for that one.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor David Spencer lauded Wilhite\u0027s ability to successfully straddle three different organizational cultures -- NASA, NIA, and Georgia Tech -- without letting any of them slip.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We all know how to take something easy and make it look hard,\u0022 he added. \u0022But Alan has a unique ability to take something difficult and make it look easy.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssociate Professor Mitchell Walker said he counted on Wilhite\u0027s wisdom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Whenever he was on campus, I could count on him coming over to visit,\u0022 said Walker.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022And he\u0027d always have helpful advice to share. He knew what work would have impact and value, and he was always willing to share that with me.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Of course, now that he\u0027s retired, he\u0027ll have more time to discuss car racing,\u0022 Walker added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWilhite quickily confirmed Walker\u0027s hunch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I just got back from Daytona where I was racing all last weekend. Probably the only time I\u0027ve passed someone going 160 miles-per-hour, \u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027m in this high-performance driver education where there are five levels of certification. I\u0027m at a 3, and when I get to a 5, I will be able to call myself a professional driver. I figure I\u0027ll get there when I\u0027m around 90.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022200\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00225\u0022 align=\u0022right\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAssociate Professor Mitchell Walker praised Wilhite for freely sharing helpful advice\u0026nbsp; with his colleagues.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the meantime, the longtime racing fanatic said retirement means he can pull out his toolbox and start working on the 2002 Porsche 911 whose engine blew up a while back.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd when it\u0027s ready, he\u0027ll take it out on the Virginia International Raceway, a 3.2-mile, 17-turn track near his home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s a lot more challenging than Daytona, because its not banked,\u0022 he said. \u0022You can\u0027t just sit there and drive. You have to maneuver.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWilhite said he will miss the energy and excitement that he felt every time he walked onto the Georgia Tech campus. In particular, he praised AE Chair Vigor Yang for recruiting a wealth of talented young professors who will ensure the School\u0027s future is as bright as its past.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I\u0027m so impressed when I come onto campus and see the world-class talent we\u0027ve attracted to our classrooms,\u0022 he said. \u0022It\u0027s always been exciting for me to be associated with Georgia Tech.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAlan Wilhite earned his bachelors in aerospace engineering from North Carolina State University, his masters from Washington University, and his doctorate from North Carolina State. In addition to teaching, he served as the co-director of the Georgia Tech Center for Aerospace Systems Engineering (CASE). He has numerous published articles and several book chapters in these areas. He has served as a researcher, systems program manager, and senior executive involved in the design and development of NASA space and aeronautic systems. He is an AIAA Associate Fellow and has served on several AIAA technical committees such as Space Systems, Space Transportation and Computer Aided Design. He is also a member of the International Astronautical Federation on the Systems Engineering committee. He has served as NASA\u2019s external chair for systems engineering and conducts research supporting NASA\u2019s vision in space exploration.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ctable width=\u0022500\u0022 border=\u00220\u0022 cellspacing=\u00221\u0022 cellpadding=\u00221\u0022\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFaculty, staff and former colleagues converged on the GT Library for Professor Alan Wilhite\u0027s retirement party, Dec. 11.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The faculty and staff of the School of Aerospace Engineering gave a spirited send-off to Dr. Alan Wilhite who officially retired from his positions at Georgia Tech and NASA."}],"uid":"27456","created_gmt":"2015-07-21 15:33:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:12","author":"Britanny Grace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"136231","name":"Alan Wilhite"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["communications@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}