
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627
kwent2@unm.edu
May 21, 2007
UNM Professor Will Chair Aerospace Division of American Society of Civil Engineers
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at UNM’s School of Engineering Arup Maji has been appointed to chair the Aerospace Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Aerospace Division of ASCE represents more than a thousand members who work in the aerospace sector.
In his new position Maji will oversee the ASCE technical committees on Advanced Materials and Structures, Aerodynamics, Dynamics and Controls, Space Engineering and Construction and Field Sensing and Robotics. Maji says “The ability to address technical needs of the aerospace sector demonstrates the versatility of the civil engineering profession.” He points out that many of the engineers in the aerospace sector; especially the experts in structures and mechanics are civil engineers by basic training. This sector also includes experts working on construction, architecture and habitat for space exploration along with multidisciplinary technologies on life-support systems, space commerce and remote sensing.
This year those committees will be involved in publishing technical reports on “Wind Engineering in Urban Aerodynamics” and “Response of Structures and Materials to Shock and Blast.” The society will also organize its biannual international conference, Earth and Space 2008 in Long Beach, California.
Maji holds a B. Tech with honors in civil engineering from IIT Kharagpur, India. He received his M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Miami and his Ph.D. in structural engineering from Northwestern University. Maji has been a UNM faculty member for 18 years. His research interests include precision composite structures for spacecraft components and space based imaging, experimental study of debris transport phenomena in nuclear power plants, smart systems for structural monitoring and application of fiber reinforced plastics for reinforcement and blast mitigation.
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