Mitchell L. R. Walker is the John W. Young Chair Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering.  As the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, he serves as the primary representative of the Dean’s Office on all matters affecting undergraduate and graduate academics.

Dr. Walker directs the High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory, and his primary research interests include experimental and theoretical studies of advanced plasma propulsion concepts for spacecraft.  He received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2004.  Dr. Walker’s research activities include Hall thrusters, gridded ion engines, diagnostics for plasma interrogation and thruster characterization, vacuum facility effects, helicon plasma sources, and plasma-material interactions.  He has authored more than 130 journal articles and conference papers in the fields of electric propulsion and plasma physics.  Dr. Walker is the director of the NASA Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute.

As a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Dr. Walker serves as Deputy Director for Space Rockets and Advanced Propulsion, as an Associate Editor of the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, and on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Physics and Astronomy and Space Sciences – Plasma Physics.  He is a member of the Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee and a member of the NASA Advisory Council – Technology, Innovation, and Engineering Committee.  Dr. Walker delivered expert witness testimony to the Space Subcommittee - House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., to help guide national investments in electric propulsion technology.  Among his man awards and honors, he is a recipient of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award, the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award, the AIAA Sustained Service Award, and the Georgia Power Professor of Excellence Award.

Vision Talk Location

• Scholar’s Event Network Theater (SEN), Georgia Tech Library and Zoom
• Watch Mitchell L. R. Walker's Vision Talk
  Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 11:00 AM EDT