October 1, 2025
Lori Magruder, an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (ASE/EM) at The University of Texas at Austin, has been elected to the grade of associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for the 2026 class.
Associate fellow members of AIAA, the world’s largest aerospace technical society, are “individuals of distinction who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.” The grade of associate fellow is highly competitive, with only approximately 17% of the AIAA community holding the title. Magruder was selected for her contributions to remote sensing, geodesy and scientific leadership.
Magruder’s research has advanced the state-of-the-art in remote sensing and sensemaking for geospatial applications, leading to new uses for space-based observations, new methods to manage data quality and the development of new data products used by the national and international science community.
She has been instrumental in the success of NASA’s ICESat-2 mission, where she led the science team through the development and on-orbit prime mission that helped define and implement science goals for the program. Recently, Magruder has worked on a research team that developed ATL24, the first global, space-based bathymetry product that will assist broadly with improving navigation safety and maritime security. The technology will shed new light on the nearshore, areas between the shoreline and deeper water where topographical knowledge of terrain below the water is largely unknown.
Magruder, who earned her Ph.D. from UT Austin with a focus on ground-based validation studies for NASA’s ICESat mission, also serves as the director of UT’s Center for Space Research. She leads many other NASA research efforts in addition to supporting remote sensing programs through the U.S. Department of Defense, with her expertise in geospatial topics and the unique link she brings between engineering and multidisciplinary science applications.
Magruder also serves on the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation Board of Directors and is a member of the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Council. She holds the Myron L. Begeman Fellowship in Engineering at UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering.
AIAA will formally honor and induct Magruder at ceremony in January 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
Learn more about Magruder’s work on her website.
