Mitchell L.R. Walker II is the new dean and Southern Company Chair of the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering represents the very best in innovation, impact, and collaboration,” said Dr. Walker. “I am honored to lead such an accomplished community of faculty, staff, and students and look forward to building on its strong foundation. Together, we will continue to advance research, education, and partnerships that address the world’s most pressing challenges and improve lives.”
A faculty member since 2005, Dr. Walker holds the William R.T. Oaks Jr. School Chair in Georgia Tech’s Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. During his tenure, he has served as associate chair for graduate studies in the Guggenheim School and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering. Additionally, Dr. Walker was involved with developing the university’s minor program in applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning and securing funding for a new Aerospace Engineering Building.
Dr. Walker is known for his advanced propulsion research, specifically his experimental and theoretical studies of plasma propulsion concepts for spacecraft. He directs Georgia Tech’s High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory and is the principal investigator and director of the Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute, a multi-university NASA Space Technology Research Institute. Dr. Walker is also an associate editor of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets and serves on the editorial boards of Frontiers in Physics and Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences – Plasma Physics.
Dr. Walker earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan.
