2023 Alumni Hall of Fame
Built upon their common educational foundation at NC State University, The MAE Alumni Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to inspire our current students, and to celebrate the accomplishments of our extraordinary graduates who have used their education to excel in a profession, career, or service. This nomination is based on professional and service achievement, entrepreneurship, and contributions to professional societies making this a truly noteworthy distinction.
With over 12,000 MAE alumni, only 160, including this year’s class, have been inducted into the MAE Hall of Fame. The MAE Department is honored to celebrate this prestigious ceremony with the 2022 class.
Click here to watch the 2023 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Ms. Adams graduated from North Carolina State University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering. Immediately following graduation, she reported to the Flight Simulation Group at the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at NAS Patuxent River Maryland, where she had been a co-op student since 1990. She assumed the role as F/A-18 Flight Simulation Engineer at Manned Flight Simulator. Within a year, she was promoted to the role of F-14 Lead Simulation Engineer where she led the efforts to fully test and regress the F-14 Digital Flight Control System computers in a lab and simulation environment prior to flight test.
In 1999, she was promoted to the Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges Program Office as the F-14 Assistant Program Manager for Training Systems. This assignment was the first of several from 1999-2012 in the Program Management field across several platforms within Naval Air Systems Command. Those included the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems Requirements Lead, the C-2/E-2C Communication Navigation Surveillance & Air Traffic Management Lead. The E-2D Cooperative Engagement Capability/Naval Integrated Fire Control Lead, and the Lean Six Sigma Deployment Champion in the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons.
In 2013, Ms. Adams returned to Engineering and Flight Test as the F/A-18E/F Assistant Program Manager for Test & Evaluation. In this role, she led test efforts of software system control sets, multiple efforts in preparation for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels Flight Demonstration team to transition to the F-18 E/F Super Hornet, and a successful Super Hornet ski jump launch demonstration for the Indian Navy. Additionally, she led the Multifunctional Information Distribution Joint Tactical Radio System Concurrent Multinetting-4 upgrade/modification, the final software load of Precision Landing Modes, and other efforts that directly influenced Fleet upgrades of the Super Hornet. In 2020, Ms. Adams assumed the role as the Director of Resources & Operations at VX-20, the Naval Force Warfare Aircraft Test Squadron. She was responsible for supervising 20+ people in diverse roles across the squadron as well as the civilian manager of squadron departments and all resources to include personnel, aircraft, and facilities.
Ms. Adams is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College, the Florida Institute of Technology, where she earned her Masters of Science in Management, and the NAVAIR Senior Executive Management Development Program. She is a certified Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act in Program Management, Systems Engineering, and Test & Evaluation and she holds her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification. She retired from government service after 33 years in 2023.
This past August, Ms. Adams joined Science Applications Corporation International (SAIC) as a program manager in the Navy Business Unit of the Defense & Civilian Sector. She also works part time as a Veterinary Assistant at a local Animal Hospital where she cares for pets and animals in our community. Her goal is to become a Veterinary Technician when she reaches full retirement. Ms. Adams lives in Hollywood Maryland with her significant other Brent, their two dogs (Cooper and Smudge), and their two cats (Lilly and Piper).
Vicki Britt was named senior vice president of Innovation, Engineering and Flight in May 2021. In this role, she is responsible for research and development; new aircraft program initiation; engineering and product development; flight, lab, and structural test; and worldwide Gulfstream flight operations.
Vicki joined Gulfstream in 1996 and has held a number of roles with increasing responsibility in stress, fatigue and damage tolerance; new product development; and airframe engineering. She has also served as staff scientist and director of aircraft structures. Before her appointment to senior vice president, Vicki was chief engineer and program manager of Gulfstream special missions.
Prior to joining Gulfstream, Vicki began her aerospace career at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Vicki holds a doctorate in aerospace engineering from Old Dominion University. She earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from North Carolina State University.
Neil S. Hall is a Lockheed Martin Fellow in applied aerodynamics and stability and control. He works in Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs (ADP), commonly known as the Skunk Works®. He began his career in 1985 at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, GA facility. Some of his most notable accomplishments include the modeling and simulation of hydrodynamic/aerodynamic interactions of water-based aircraft. He developed a six degree-of-freedom program that simulates the takeoff and landing characteristics of water-based aircraft using a time–dependent hydrodynamic potential flow code. His areas of work also include flow control, mobile off-shore aircraft operation, and development of analysis tools for evaluating aging aircraft. Outside of his role in ADP, he has provided support to the C-130, P-3, and C-5 production programs and has provided innovative solutions to areas such as ground minimum control speed modeling and simulation, wing out-of-tolerance flying qualities evaluation, transport firefighting systems modeling, and airborne cargo delivery and precision airdrop evaluation. Neil has served as the ADP Computational Fluid Dynamics group lead, Stability and Control group lead, and acting Marietta Site Manager for Air Vehicle Systems and Sciences. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a member of the Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee, a member of the International Council on Systems Engineering, a certified Systems Engineering Professional, and is a certified program evaluator for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Other honors include an Aviation Week Laureate Award in Aeronautics and Propulsion, as well as the Society of Automotive Engineers International excellence in oral presentation award. Neil often provides technical talks at colleges and universities to bring attention to the importance of technical excellence in aerospace. He is a passionate advocate of mentoring and has been mentoring numerous individuals across the three Lockheed Martin aeronautics sites. He received a bachelor’s of science degree in aerospace engineering from North Carolina State University and a master’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Susan Hudson earned her B.S. (summa cum laude) in Applied Mathematics with a Physics concentration from Presbyterian College in 1987, her M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from N.C. State University in 1989, and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1998. Dr. Hudson spent 10 years at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center where she led testing efforts for various engines in support of NASA programs. She applied state of the art diagnostic techniques and developed uncertainty analysis methods to quantify experimental uncertainties. She worked to extend uncertainty analysis techniques to computational methods and merge the use of experimental and computational methods for maximum program benefit. Dr. Hudson received many NASA awards including a Full Time Study award to pursue her Ph.D. She left NASA in 1999 to continue her work as an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University. Dr. Hudson developed a successful research program, published numerous papers and journal articles, served on various University committees, mentored graduate students, and taught Mechanical Engineering classes. An unexpected family situation brought her back to the Carolinas in 2003 to take over a family business. Since 2003, Dr. Hudson has served as the owner and an engineer at Drives & Controls Specialties in Hartsville, SC. Dr. Hudson and her team provide industry customers with mechanical/electrical system design and manufacturing of automated machinery. She leads an organization that develops innovative technologies for industry. Her company prides itself on developing close customer relationships and solving unique problems across a broad range of industry customers. Dr. Hudson has mentored students and been involved with professional societies throughout each stage of her career. She is an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
After completing his PhD at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1982, Dr. Nau began his 40-year career at NC State as an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering. He retired as Professor Emeritus from the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department (CCEE) in 2022.
During his career, Dr. Nau taught a variety of courses in structural engineering at undergraduate and graduate levels. His teaching was recognized through the receipt of numerous teaching awards. These include the NC State Outstanding Teaching Award, Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award, and the AT&T Foundation Award for Excellence in Instruction of Engineering Students.
Dr. Nau served the teaching profession through the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He served a term as Chair of the ASCE Committee on Curricula and Accreditation, and was as an ABET Program Evaluator. He served as Vice Chair/Program Chair, then Chair, of the Civil Engineering Division of ASEE. He was the recipient of the 2006 George K. Wadlin Distinguished Service Award of the Civil Engineering Division.
Dr. Nau’s research over the years involved both technical and educational components. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (AKDOT). He served a term as Chair of the ASCE Committee on Shock and Vibratory Effects, and a term as Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering.
Although retired from CCEE, Dr. Nau remains active in research and advising at NC State. He is Co-Principal Investigator of an AKDOT project which involves the seismic evaluation and retrofit of the Anchorage Port Access Bridge, a vital lifeline connecting the Port of Alaska to the statewide highway transportation system. Dr. Nau also advises Post Baccalaureate Students (PBS) taking graduate courses in NC State’s Engineering Online program.
David has three careers, NASA scientist, patent agent and patent examiner at the US patent and trademark office. As a NASA scientist, he was aerothermal lead for the Stardust Sample Return Capsule, his paper on the capsule was awarded a best thermophysics paper, as a patent agent he wrote patents for the iphone and for a magnetic levitating hoverboard that was named Time Magazines top 25 inventions in 2014. He is an inventor on 9 patents related to magnetic levitation. As a patent examiner, he examines patents for jet engines.