Karen Marais, an associate professor in AAE, was selected as part of the Class of 2019 Associate Fellows for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

The grade of Associate Fellow recognizes individuals who have “accomplished or been in charge of important engineering or scientific work, or who have done original work of outstanding merit, or who have otherwise made outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics,” according to the AIAA.

"It is a great honor to be recognized in this way by the AIAA," Marais says. "Working with my technical committee and helping to organize AIAA conferences has been incredibly rewarding on both professional and personal levels, and I look forward to continuing to serve the AIAA in different capacities."

Marais performs research in three general areas: System safety and risk analysis; value-centric system design and operation; and civil aviation policy. Her research is multidisciplinary in nature, spanning traditional engineering disciplines such as reliability, maintainability, and risk analysis, and extending to economics and organizational behavior.

To be selected, an individual must be an AIAA Senior Member in good standing with at least 12 years of professional experience and be recommended by a minimum of three current Associate Fellows. Each year, only one of every 150 voting members are selected and approved.

Marais will be formally inducted at the Associate Fellows Recognition Ceremony and Dinner at the AIAA SciTech Forum on Jan. 7, 2019, in San Diego, Calif.