AUSTIN, Texas—Dr. Hans Mark, director of Defense Research and Engineering for the U.S. Department of Defense and a professor of aerospace engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has been named the 1999 Joe J. King Professional Engineering Achievement Award winner.
Mark, a former chancellor of the UT System, will receive the award at 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Connally Banquet Hall in the Lila B. Etter Alumni Center on the UT campus. As part of the ceremony, Mark will gave an address on “Reducing Threats to the United States in the 21st Century.”
The King award, one of the most prestigious UT engineering faculty honors, was established in 1976 to recognize engineering faculty who have shown exemplary leadership in the engineering profession. Service to governmental boards, leadership in professional societies, publication authorship, and excellence in teaching and research are among the criteria. A cash gift of $2,500 comes with the award.
In his DOD position, Mark is chief technical advisor to the secretary of defense and the under secretary of defense for acquisition and technology on defense research, development, testing and evaluation. He also is responsible for developing policies, providing guidance and managing atomic energy, chemical and biological defense plans and programs with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. In addition, he has management oversight for the Defense Advanced Research Agency and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.
Mark, currently on leave from the University, has been a professor of aerospace engineering at UT Austin since 1988 and has held the John J. McKetta Centennial Energy Chair in Engineering since 1992. He was chancellor of the UT System from 1984-1992. During his tenure, externally funded research performed at UT System campuses increased from $270 million to $600 million and two industrial research consortia, the Microelectronics and Computer Corporation (MCC) and SEMATECH, were established.
Prior to joining the University, Mark was deputy administrator of NASA, where he oversaw the first 14 space shuttle flights and helped to initiate the establishment of the U.S. Space Station Program. Prior to that, he was secretary of the U.S. Air Force, where he initiated the U.S. Air Force Space Command (now the U.S. Space Command). Previously, Mark directed the NASA-Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., where he oversaw the “Pioneer” planetary exploration program.
Born in Mannheim, Germany, Mark came to the United States with his parents in 1940 and became a U.S. citizen in 1945. He has an A.B. degree in physics from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mark was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1976. He is the author or co-author of more than 180 scholarly articles and numerous books.
During the Feb. 24 awards convocation, numerous other UT engineering faculty members will receive leadership and teaching awards. Departmental academic excellence, leadership and student society awards will be given to engineering students. IBM Corp. and SBC Technology Resources Inc. will receive corporate service awards.
