A professor renowned for pioneering research in high-hypersonic flight is UCF’s newest trustee chair, a prestigious honor for faculty who demonstrate national and global excellence in teaching, research and service.
Kareem Ahmed, a world expert in hypersonic and space propulsion, is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and a faculty member of UCF’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research.
His groundbreaking work includes developing technology that makes a 15-minute flight from coast to coast a future possibility.
Ahmed joins an elite group of UCF faculty members to receive the five-year trustee chair appointments, which were created in 2003 to help retain and attract exceptional faculty. The designation carries an annual stipend for honorees to advance their scholarship, part of which can be used as a salary supplement.
Deans nominate candidates, who are evaluated by a trustee chair review committee and affirmed by UCF’s president and provost.
“Accomplished and innovative faculty — including those honored as trustee chairs — are the cornerstone of UCF’s academic excellence and essential to achieving our vision as Florida’s Premier Engineering and Technology University,” UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright says. “Dr. Ahmed’s bold work is inventing the future of the aerospace and defense industries, inspiring future innovators and generating impact that will be felt for generations.”
Ahmed heads the UCF Center of Excellence in Hypersonic and Space Propulsion, which opened last fall to develop technology and innovation aimed at enhancing national defense and fostering new frontiers in space exploration. Beyond advancing faster air and space travel, Ahmed and his team’s research holds promise for enabling lighter, energy-efficient rockets that burn clean fuel and travel farther at a reduced cost.
The U.S. Department of Defense supports Ahmed’s work through multiple research grants, which also offer opportunities for students to prepare for careers in the space industry. Ahmed’s strong record of mentoring and advising encompasses 145 doctoral, master’s and honors undergraduate thesis students who have either graduated or are currently pursuing their degree.
Before joining UCF in 2014, Ahmed was an assistant professor at Old Dominion University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and served as a faculty member at Florida State University. He spent three years as a senior aero/thermo engineer at aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, focusing on military engines and working on advanced engine programs and technologies. Widely published in his field, Ahmed is a fellow of The Combustion Institute, a Department of the Navy Distinguished Faculty Fellow, an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics associate fellow and a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Office of Naval Research faculty fellow.
Ahmed earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University at Buffalo and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the New York State College at Alfred University.
