September 23-24, 2004

ITEM 124-2002-R0904   Authorization to Confer the Title of Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering upon Anthony Demetriades; Montana State University-Bozeman

THAT:    Upon the occasion of the retirement of Professor Anthony Demetriades from the faculty of Montana State University, the Board of Regents wishes to express its appreciation for his services to the University, the Montana University System, and the people of the State of Montana.

 

EXPLANATION:    Anthony Demetriades received his Bachelor's degree from Colgate University, his Master's degree from the University of Minnesota and his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology.

While employed at the Aeronutronic Division of the Ford Motor Company from 1963 to 1979, he did pioneering research in supersonic and hypersonic aerodynamics and in methods of detecting and defending against re-entering intercontinental ballistic missiles. Upon joining the faculty at Montana State University, he arranged for his entire Supersonic Wind-Tunnel Laboratory to be donated by the company to MSU, where over the years he directed many supersonic wind-tunnel research projects. These were financially supported by the National Science Foundation, the NASA Langley Research Center, the NASA Ames Research Center, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Defense organization, the U.S. Air Force, AVCO Corporation, Textron and other governmental and industrial groups. These research projects provided graduate thesis topics, and financial support, for seventeen graduate students and numerous undergraduates.

During his tenure Dr. Demetriades taught a number of undergraduate courses in his specialty of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics at the Mechanical Engineering Department of MSU - Bozeman. He was also awarded the Haliburton Award for Excellence in Education, Research and Service. Other service to education includes his appointment as committeeman on the National Academy of Sciences / National Research Council on Basic Research Advisory to the US Army Research Office, the Science Advisory Committee of Chapman College (CA) and Cal - State Fullerton, chairman of the Symposia Committee of the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences in Los Angeles, and Chairman of the Education Committee of the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences in Orange County (CA).

Service to the engineering profession includes long-time membership the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (as Associate Fellow), as Peer review committeeman for NASA's Langley Quiet Tunnel Research, and membership to the Transition Study Group. Dr. Demetriades holds two U.S. patents, dealing with magnetohydrodynamic power generation and supersonic aircraft engine inlets.

His publications include sixty technical articles in national and international archival journals and seventy monographs and technical reports on subjects as diverse as turbulence, hydrodynamic stability, ionized gases, and instrumentation.

He has been a consultant to Rockwell International, Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Army Strategic Defense Center, Lockheed Research Center, TEXTRON Defense Systems, NASA Langley Research Center, Calspan Corporation, Kaman Sciences Corporation, Tetra Corporation, MHD Research Inc., Aeronutronic - Ford Corporation, and AVCO Corporation.

Dr. Demetriades was elected to Phi Beta Kappa National Honorary Fraternity and to Sigma Xi National Engineering Society. He has appeared in American Men of Science, Marquis' Who-Is-Who In the West, Marquis' Who-Is-Who in Science and Engineering and also in Who-Is-Who Among America's Teachers.

For these and other contributions, the Board of Regents of Higher Education is pleased to confer Dr. Anthony Demetriades the rank of Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Montana State University and wishes him well for many years in the future.