Drs. Faruque, Kara named Associate Fellows by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | tanner.holubar@okstate.edu

For aerospace engineers, the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics is more than a professional organization. It's a global community where research is shared and mentorship shapes the careers of the next generation of aerospace leaders.

Being named an AIAA Fellow is a distinguished career achievement, recognizing those who have made notable and valuable contributions to aeronautics or astronautics.

Drs. Kursat Kara and Imraan Faruque in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have been named AIAA Associate Fellows and will be inducted in 2027.

The ripple effect of mentorship

The distinction recognizes notable and valuable contributions to aeronautics or astronautics. For Kara, it also represents a professional journey shaped by mentorship, collaboration and service.

“I am honored and grateful to be selected as an AIAA Associate Fellow,” Kara said. “This recognition is especially meaningful professionally because it comes from peers in the aerospace community — people whose work I have followed, learned from, collaborated with, and respected throughout my career.”

Kara’s research focuses on solving engineering problems by understanding the physics of complex aerodynamic phenomena. Using high-fidelity simulations and physics-based modeling, he studies what makes aircraft stable, how spacecraft behave during atmospheric entry, and how aircraft respond to turbulent environments.

His work spans applied and computational aerodynamics, aerodynamic stability, active flow control, autonomous aircraft and complex airwakes.

“The common theme is using advanced computation to uncover the underlying physics and then developing models that make aerospace systems more predictable, reliable and capable,” Kara said.

He views those efforts, and the recognition they bring, as a shared achievement.

“Personally, I see this as a shared recognition,” Kara said. “It reflects not only my work but also the contributions of the students, colleagues, collaborators, mentors, and family members who have supported me throughout my career.”

Kara’s connection to AIAA began during his graduate studies, when he attended a seminar by Professor Turgut Sarpkaya. Sarpkaya encouraged students in the audience to become AIAA student members and get involved in the aerospace community.

That involvement deepened when his department chair, Professor Thomas Burton, encouraged him to apply to an AIAA technical committee. Kara joined the Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee in 2012 and served for nearly a decade.

Kara has continued that commitment through student mentorship, advising competition teams and serving as a technical report judge. His nomination for Associate Fellow recognition came from Professor Rasim Guldiken, head of OSU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

From Sarpkaya’s initial encouragement to Burton’s support for him as a young faculty member and Guldiken’s nomination, those connections have helped shape Kara’s professional journey.

“Because AIAA has been part of my professional life since my graduate student years, through research, service, conferences, and student mentoring, being selected as an AIAA Associate Fellow feels like a very special full-circle moment,” Kara said.

At OSU, Kara is especially proud of building a research and educational program that enables students to tackle challenging problems and develop into independent researchers and engineers.

“A technical result may solve an important problem, but helping develop a person can have an impact that lasts decades,” Kara said. “When I think about the mentors who influenced my career, that part of the job becomes even more meaningful to me.”

For Kara, contributing to the aerospace community includes producing reproducible research, sharing knowledge and tools that others can build on, and creating opportunities for the next generation.

“I hope that, just as others encouraged and created opportunities for me early in my career, I can continue to do the same for students and young engineers.”

From flight testing to autonomous swarms

For Faruque, his involvement with AIAA began in the early 2000s, when the organization provided a forum to share results from flight tests of early unmanned systems.

Being named an AIAA associate fellow is a recognition shared by those who have shaped his journey. It is shared by students and staff who contributed to his projects, the mentors who inspired him early in his career, as well as the sponsors who trusted him to address important problems.

"Recognition like this has a way of connecting the community through reflecting on each person's contributions to the breakthroughs," Faruque said. "In a community that works to advance excellence in aerospace, I feel that we can all be one of those contributors."

Faruque was drawn to the mystique of flight from an early age. That interest developed a vision for unmanned aerial systems and their potential before the technology became widespread. This was followed by work on implementable swarming and, more recently, has contributed to sustainability through orbital debris removal.

Faruque has a passion for seeing others succeed, calling these "second-order accomplishments." One example is hearing from a former mentee who helped discover how insects process information to enable resilient swarms,  a breakthrough Farque said shows the impact can extend beyond a single research project.

"I'm generally most proud when I hear a former mentee, staff member or student accomplishing a world first," Faruque said. "I believe breakthroughs come from creativity, support, hard work and being in the right place at the right time."

For Faruque, meaningful contributions to aerospace begin with identifying problems around you.

"These needs are all around us," Faruque said. "If you can be humble enough to listen to the problems around you, you will hear the areas that need to be solved. I most admire people who listen well and find the core problem we all need solved."

That philosophy has increasingly led Faruque toward sustainability as one of the aerospace community's most pressing challenges.

"Reducing the resource requirements to be in flight benefits everyone by making aerospace more accessible for everyday people, reducing the cost of defense, increasing supply chain resilience and preserving the one Earth that humanity inhabits," Faruque said.