May 27, 1997
For Immediate Use

Professor Chih-Ming Ho and the pitching wing mechanism in the UCLA low-speed wind tunnel

Professor Chih-Ming Ho of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department has been named as the first recipient of the Ben Rich Lockheed Martin Endowed Chair of Advanced Aerospace Technologies.

The late Ben R. Rich, a School of Engineering alumnus (MS '50) who is known as the "Father of Stealth," is recognized as one of the best aircraft engineers in the world and led development of the heralded F-117 stealth fighter. Ho, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is an expert in turbulence control and has pioneered development of innovative micro actuators for drag reduction and improved control of aircraft.

To honor Rich, the Ben Rich Lockheed Martin Chair of Advanced Aerospace Technologies was established in the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science with a $500,000 endowment from the Lockheed Leadership Fund and the School.

Rich joined Lockheed in 1950, where he participated in aerodynamic, thermodynamic, propulsion and design efforts for production of F-104, U-2, and SR-71 aircraft. In the 1980s, he led a team of Lockheed "Skunk Works" engineers that was awarded the Collier Trophy in 1989 for production and deployment of the F-117A Stealth Fighter. Now known as the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the division was founded during World War II by Lockheed's Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, and has produced many legendary aircraft. Johnson's lifelong protege and successor was Ben Rich, who died in 1995 of cancer at the age of 69.

Ben R. Rich and F-117 Stealth Fighter

Lockheed Martin Skunkworks President Jack Gordon said, "This chair is a special tribute to the memory of Ben Rich, who dedicated his own career of more than forty years in engineering to developing the people and technologies that have helped keep America at the forefront of aerospace technology."

A.R. Frank Wazzan, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said "It is a privilege to join with Lockheed Martin to honor the achievements of one of our most distinguished alumni. Professor Ho is an apt recipient, as his research and teaching are outstanding in his field."

The Lockheed Leadership Fund is a means by which Lockheed supports education for four-year colleges and universities engaged in the training of engineers, scientists and managers for the aerospace industry. Wazzan said the Lockheed Martin Chair will "help fund research for new technologies to apply to commercial and defense aircraft, and will help train aerospace engineers whose dedication and achievements will be a tribute to Mr. Rich."

Ho has been a faculty member in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA since 1991, and is director of the School's Center for Micro Systems. His primary research areas have been in the areas of turbulence, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), bio-fluid mechanics, aerodynamics and aeroacoustics.

The focus of his current research is in the development of "smart skin" for active control of turbulence - the smart skin consists of tiny microactuators, MEMS-based shear stress sensors, and neural networks integrated together in a thin wafer that can be mounted on the leading edge of aircraft wings to modify turbulent flow erupting at the boundary layer.

Ho is also interested in applying MEMS for biomedical applications. One of his primary research projects is to develop a handheld micro-sensor to detect airborne bio-agents based on DNA techniques. Micro-scale liquid handling systems consisting of micro-pumps and valves are also being developed for drug delivery or minimally invasive surgery procedures.

Prior to joining UCLA, Ho was a faculty member at the University of Southern California from 1975 to 1991. He received his bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in mechanics from Johns Hopkins University in 1974.

Ho was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering this year, and named a fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Physical Society for his contributions to the basic understanding and control of turbulent shear flows, and for pioneering contributions to applying microtransducers to aerospace science.

He has published more than 130 papers in the research areas described above and received U.S. patents in MEMS-based transducers, optical sensors, and in nozzle design to enhance mass transfer (jet engine combustion).

UCLA has a total of more than 100 Regents-approved endowed chairs. Each chair represents a private gift to the University of at least $500,000; gift funds are invested, and resulting interest income is used to support the teaching and research activities (but not salary) of the professor selected to hold the chair. The tradition of endowing professorial chairs dates to 16th-century England.