UCLA Samueli Appoints Distinguished Professor Jenn-Ming Yang Collins Aerospace Term Chair for Excellence
Yang was selected to hold the chair for his significant contributions to the advancement of the fundamental understanding of high-temperature composites for advanced aerospace structural applications.
Established in 1987, the Collins Aerospace endowed chair was made possible thanks to a gift from the Rockwell International Corporation. The chair’s name was changed in 2007 to the Rockwell Collins Chair and again in 2021 to align with the new name of the firm, Collins Aerospace, which is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. The previous chairholder was John Kim, a professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The endowment fund for the chair, which has continued to increase since it was established more than 30 years ago, was recently split to support two term chairs — the aforementioned Collins Aerospace Term Chair for Excellence, and the Collins Aerospace Term Chair for Innovation.
A faculty member at UCLA since 1986, Yang conducts research that investigates the fundamental problems related to the processing, microstructure and behavior of metallic and composites for advanced aerospace structural applications. His research group is also conducting experimental work to study the nanomechanical behavior of nanostructured metallic and ceramic materials.
Through these efforts, Yang aims to create a science base in quantitative relations between the microstructural parameters and macroscopic mechanical response of high temperature metallic and composite materials. Findings from his research could lead to the development of safe and reliable composite structural components at elevated temperatures.
As associate dean for international initiatives and online programs, Yang has successfully led the school’s two professional graduate programs — the Master of Science Online Program, which has been ranked as one of the top online graduate programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report (currently ranked the No. 1 program for veterans, No. 1 among public universities and No. 2 overall); and the newly established one-year, on-campus Master of Engineering professional degree program.
Among the many accolades Yang has received over his decades-long career are the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Young Investigator Award and the R&D 100 Award.
Yang received his B.S. in materials science and engineering at National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan. After two years of military service, he worked for Texas Instruments, Taiwan, as an engineer in charge of electronic packaging materials. He came to the United States in 1982 and received his Ph.D. in metallurgy from the University of Delaware.