Contact: Bob Ratliff
Two scientists at Mississippi State University's Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory are being honored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Robert L. Cook and Carlson C.P. Pian have been named AIAA Associate Fellows on the basis of significant contributions to the aerospace industry.
Based in Reston, Va., AIAA is the principal organization of aerospace-related professions. Its membership includes more than 37,000 individual and corporate members around the world.
DIAL is a major research unit of MSU's College of Engineering. Many of the analytical methods it pioneered for the United States Department of Energy are being used to increase the efficiency and safety of industrial processes around the world.
Cook, a professor of physics and chemistry, is the lab's deputy director. His research includes the areas of microwave spectroscopy and the characterization of plasma flows.
In addition to a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame, Cook holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Miami. He also completed post-doctoral work at Duke University.
Pian is a senior research engineer. He has been actively involved with the development of plasma torches and remediation technologies for hazardous waste treatment.
He received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan. His post-doctoral work took place at the Eindhoven Technical University in the Netherlands.