Dr. Charles Elachi, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has been elected as a fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the world's leading professional society in the field.
Elachi is being honored for his international technical leadership and pivotal contributions in the field of space-borne synthetic aperture radar for observing Earth and exploring other planets. To become a fellow, a candidate must be distinguished in the field of aerospace and show strong leadership potential.
Elachi's work has made possible a range of investigations of Earth geology, including its topography, oceans, sea ice, and interactions of the wind and currents, as well as detection below the desert surface. Elachi's radar remote sensing techniques have been used to study Venus and will be used for Saturn's moon Titan.
"I'm honored to be elected as a fellow in this most distinguished organization," said Elachi. "This reflects not only on me personally but on all my colleagues at JPL who helped me throughout my career."
Elachi has served as JPL director since May 2001. Previously, as JPL's director for Space and Earth Science Programs since 1982, he was responsible for the development of more than 45 flight missions and instruments. As a JPL senior research scientist, he has served as principal investigator on such projects as the Shuttle Imaging Radar series, the Magellan Imaging Radar, and the Cassini Titan Radar. Elachi was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1989. He has authored more than 200 technical publications and holds several patents. He teaches physics of remote sensing at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, which manages JPL for NASA.
Elachi has been a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics since 1988 and has been an Associate fellow since 1993. He will officially become a fellow during the organization's Global Air and Space '02 International Business Forum and Exhibition, April 23 to 25 in Arlington, Va.