Horack elected Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society
Senior Associate Dean John Horack has been elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).
Founded in 1866, the RAeS aims to “further the advancement of aeronautical art, science and engineering around the world.” College of Engineering Dean David B. Williams was elected as a Fellow in 2018.
To receive this honor, a Fellow must have made “outstanding contributions in the profession of aeronautics, attained a position of high responsibility in the field and have had long experience of high quality.” Two current members of the society must sponsor the application.
Horack arrived at Ohio State in 2016, when he was named the inaugural Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy. He is a tenured professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
Before coming to Ohio State in 2016, Horack served as the vice president for Space Systems at Teledyne Brown Engineering, vice president for research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and vice president of the International Astronautical Federation, a consortium of academic, industrial and governmental leaders from 68 countries. He spent nearly two decades as a NASA civil servant, performing original theoretical and experimental research in high-energy astrophysics, cosmology, and gamma-ray bursts, as well as a member of the Senior Executive Service, leading the Science and Mission Systems Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
At Ohio State Professor Horack has stepped up as interim leader of the Center for Aviation Studies, and leads the diversity and inclusion committee in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. A popular teacher, Horack also is advisor to the Buckeye Space Launch Initiative team, Spaceport America Cup winners two years in a row.
He is the author or co-author of over 100 scientific papers, conference proceedings, and publications across subjects including space policy, atmospheric physics, and high-energy astrophysics.
Horack holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s degree in Astrophysics from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Astronomy from Northwestern University. He is an FAA-licensed flight instructor, with commercial and instrument pilot ratings.
