May 2, 2016
Dr. Leland Nicolai
Dr. Leland Nicolai (BS '57), renowned educator, author, and aircraft designer, has been selected as the department's 2016 Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Nicolai will be the keynote speaker at our graduation celebration on June 10, 2016, and will be honored there by our faculty, our students and their families and guests. Dr. Nicolai has spent more than five decades in service to his country as an educator, author and aircraft designer.
He spent 23 years in the US Air Force as an R&D Officer and aircraft designer (retiring as a Colonel in 1982) and 34 years in the aerospace industry as an aircraft designer/developer (retiring as a Lockheed Martin Fellow).
As an educator, Dr. Nicolai conducted a five-day aircraft design short course in Dayton, OH for 25 years and a 15 week aircraft design course as part of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Technical Institute in Burbank and Palmdale, CA for 30 years. Over 2000 practicing engineers went through the two programs; Dr. Nicolai has visited over 20 schools in the last three decades for lectures, design reviews, seminars, and speeches (AIAA student chapters, banquets and graduation).
Dr. Nicolai has written four text books on aircraft design:
- Fundamentals of Aircraft Design, METS Inc., Dayton, OH, 197
- Fundamentals of Aircraft and Airship Design, Volume 1 Aircraft Design, AIAA, Reston, VA 2010
- Volume 2 Airship Design, AIAA, Reston, VA 2013; Lessons Learned: A Guide to Developing a Winning Design, AIAA, Reston, VA 2016.
The first three of these books are used in US universities.
While deployed to The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1977, Col. Nicolai designed and developed a low signature, nuclear tipped, air-launched cruise missile called the Advanced Cruise Missile (ACM). This program was classified with code name TEAL DAWN and technical support out of Wright=Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH. The full-scale design was developed by Convair, San Diego. The ACM program was transferred to the Air Force in 1982 as the AGM-129A and was recognized (came out of the black) in 1988. Convair produced 460 ACMs and none were ever launched in anger.
Dr. Nicolai has received degrees from the University of Washington (BSAE 1957), University of Oklahoma (MSAE 1962), University of Michigan (PhD AE 1968), Auburn University (MBA 1976) and Air War College (1976).