Daniel E. Hastings

Daniel E. Hastings
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMIT
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsMIT
US Air Force
Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology
ThesisThe high‐β universal drift mode

Daniel E. Hastings is an American physicist, currently the Cecil and Ida Green Education Professor and the former director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] Hastings became head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics on January 1, 2019.[2][3][4] He has served as the chief scientist of the US Air Force[5][6] and on many national level boards.

Hastings earned his B.A. at Oxford University in the UK (1976) and his S.M. (1978) and Ph.D. (1980) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writing his doctoral thesis on "The high‐β universal drift mode."[7]

Hastings worked at Physical Sciences Inc from 1980 to 1981 and then Oak Ridge National Lab Fusion Energy Division from 1981 to 1985. He returned to MIT as an assistant professor (1985-1988). Hastings was an associate professor (1988-1993) and later full professor for the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT (1993–present). He was also the associate department head of research (1993-1996). He took a leave to be the chief scientist of the US Air Force (1997-1999)[5][6] and served on the National Science Board from 2002-2008.[8] Dr. Hastings was asked to direct the Technology and Policy Program (TPP) at MIT (2000-2003)[6] as well as associate director and co-director of the Engineering Systems Division (2000-2004), and later became its director (2004-2005). Dr. Hastings became the Dean for Undergraduate Education (2006-2013) and then the CEO and director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (2014-2018). As of January 1, 2019, he is the head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.[9]

Hastings has received many honors, including membership to the National Academy of Engineering (2017) for contributions in spacecraft and space system-environment interactions, space system architecture, and leadership in aerospace research and education.[10] He also holds fellowship in the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (1998),[11] and the Air Force Distinguished Civilian Award (1997, 1999).[6]

Hastings is a Christian, and a member of Grace Chapel in Lexington. He states, "I became a Christian in 1972 basically as a search for meaning in my life. I have found Jesus Christ to provide the purpose and meaning for which I was searching. He has led and guided me ever since. In coming to know Jesus Christ, I have acknowledged that I am not capable of running my life on my own and I need Him to explicitly give me direction. After becoming a Christian in high school, I went on to study mathematics, engineering and physics. I have never found my occupation as a scientist and engineer to be in conflict with my faith. Rather I see my calling to be in searching out and using the knowledge that God has given us to better the lot of humanity and serve Him on this earth."[12]

Academic work

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Hastings has published extensively in aerospace engineering, including a highly cited textbook called Spacecraft-environment interactions.[13] His research includes uncertainty and systems' engineering.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ Peterson, Jane A. (2014-11-16). "M.I.T. Settles In for Long Haul in Singapore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  2. ^ "Daniel E. Hastings". mit.edu. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  3. ^ "Daniel Hastings named the Director of Smart". mit.edu. 18 July 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  4. ^ "Daniel Hastings named head of Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics". mit.edu. 20 June 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base; Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (Aug 2011 : Rosslyn, VA) (2012). Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-26214-9. OCLC 823907497.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c d "Nominations to the National Science Board (Text Only)". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  7. ^ Hastings, Daniel E. (1982). "The high-β universal drift mode". Physics of Fluids. 25 (3): 509. Bibcode:1982PhFl...25..509H. doi:10.1063/1.863763.
  8. ^ United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (2002). Legislative Calendar, One Hundred Seventh Congress. p. 91.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Daniel E. Hastings". mit.edu. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  10. ^ "National Academy of Engineering Elects 84 Members and 22 Foreign Members". NAE Website. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  11. ^ "AIAA Fellows" (PDF). 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Daniel Hastings Home Page". NAE Website. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  13. ^ Hastings, Daniel; Garrett, Henry (2004-08-19). Spacecraft-Environment Interactions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-60756-8.
  14. ^ Ross, Adam M.; Rhodes, Donna H.; Hastings, Daniel E. (2008). "Defining changeability: Reconciling flexibility, adaptability, scalability, modifiability, and robustness for maintaining system lifecycle value". Systems Engineering. 11 (3): 246–262. doi:10.1002/sys.20098. ISSN 1520-6858. S2CID 8722831.
  15. ^ Ross, Adam M.; Hastings, Daniel E.; Warmkessel, Joyce M.; Diller, Nathan P. (2004). "Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration as Front End for Effective Space System Design". Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. 41 (1): 20–28. Bibcode:2004JSpRo..41...20R. doi:10.2514/1.9204. hdl:1721.1/84152. ISSN 0022-4650.


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