By:
Writer: Linda Fresques
Andreas Gross, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received the Patricia Christmore Faculty Teaching Award during the NMSU Convocation ceremony on Aug. 22.
Named for Patricia Christmore, former accounting department head, this annual award recognizes and rewards superb junior tenure-track faculty members for excellence in teaching.
“Dr. Gross is totally committed to all three pillars of a research university like NMSU – teaching, research and service. He conducts his work in these three areas with enthusiasm, dedication, and appreciation of quality, both within NMSU and outside the campus. Dr. Gross’s work has earned respect and admiration of students and colleagues,” said Ruey-Hung Chen, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department head.
Gross, who runs the Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, has had a lifelong fascination with aircraft and gliders as well as wind turbines and sailboats. In his own words, “anything that has to do with fluid dynamics is of interest.”
His passion led to master’s and doctoral degrees in fluid dynamics (the study of gases and liquids in motion) from Stuttgart and Aachen University in his native Germany, as well as an active research portfolio in the field.
Gross is currently conducting research funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research on methods to make jet engines more powerful and lighter, ultimately rendering civilian and military air travel less expensive. This research is being conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio where Gross has spent several months for the past three summers working on the project.
Gross shares his keen interest in the classroom and beyond. He is being assisted in this research by doctoral candidate Sergio Romero. He also serves as adviser to the NMSU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and students involved in the organization’s Design Build Fly Competition. A licensed pilot, Gross is a member of the West Mesa Flying Club and the White Sands Soaring Association and encourages student participation in both organizations.
