August 27, 2018
Ryan Russell, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, has been elected a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society (AAS) in recognition of his contributions to the field of astronautics. AAS Fellows consist of members who have made significant scientific, engineering, academic and/or management contributions to astronautics and space. The number of fellows elected each year is 1% or less of the total membership.
Russell’s research group, the Space Trajectory Computation Lab, solves orbital mechanics problems as they relate to space utilization and exploration. Research includes areas of interest in space flight mechanics, astrodynamics, optimization and numerical methods, orbit determination, spacecraft mission trajectory designs and efficient software implementation. Projects are funded from a variety of sponsors, including NASA, Federally Funded R&D Centers (FFRDCs), the United States Air Force and a handful of industry partners.
Russell joined the Cockrell School of Engineering faculty in 2012. Before joining UT Austin, he worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a member of the Guidance, Navigation, and Control team where he was a mission designer and orbit determination analyst for a variety of space flight missions.
He has authored or co-authored dozens of journal, conference and other technical publications and has been a recipient of several awards from institutions such as NASA, JPL, AIAA, AAS and more. He received his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin.
Russell was presented with a plaque recognizing him as an AAS Fellow during the awards banquet at the AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference in Snowbird, Utah on Aug. 20.
