Reilly Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Materials Engineering Wayne Chen

Wayne Chen, the Reilly Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Materials Engineering, has been selected by the undergraduate student body as the recipient for the 2018 Elmer F. Bruhn Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The award is presented annually to the outstanding teacher in AAE and is made possible by the interest and generosity of friends and alumni of the school.

It’s the first time Chen, the Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Head for Graduate Education, has been honored with the award. Chen taught undergraduate courses AAE 25100 (Introduction to Aerospace Design) and 35200 (Aerospace Structural Analysis) last year.

“I enjoy the opportunity to teach highly motivated Purdue aerospace students,” Chen says.

The winner of the Bruhn Award becomes the School’s nominee for the College of Engineering’s annual A.A. Potter Best Teacher Award.

Chen, who has been at Purdue since 2005, has developed an independent and well-funded research program investigating the dynamic mechanical behavior of materials and the necessary experimental techniques and has established a national and international reputation in his field.