The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been in the minority… It will take such a small committed minority to work unrelentingly to win the uncommitted majority. Such a group may transform America’s greatest dilemma into her most glorious opportunity.
Background
Wesley L. Harris is an aeronautical engineer, most recently NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics. In 1964, Dr. Harris earned an SB with honors in aeronautical engineering from the University of Virginia. He went on to receive an MA (1966) and a PhD (1968), both in aerospace and mechanical sciences, from Princeton University.
Interests
Harris researches fluid dynamics (unsteady aerodynamics, aeroacoustics); rotorcraft technology; economic incentives (defense systems acquisition, lean financial management methods); sustainment of capital assets; and sickle cell pathology (onset dynamics of crisis). Specific endeavors have focused on demonstrating the effects of an object traveling at or above the speed of sound, studying how the shape of an object influences its high-speed movement through space and the noise generated by high-speed travel, as well as the problems of air flow in supersonic conditions. His work on helicopter rotor noise, air flows above and below the speed of sound, and the advancement of engineering education earned him a fellowship with The American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Prior to becoming a visiting MLK professor, Harris was on the faculty at MIT. As a faculty member, he championed diversity efforts at the Institute by creating methods for measuring and improving student achievement and initiating programs that meet the needs of black students.