Wing Ng appointed Alumni Distinguished Professor
Wing Ng, the Christopher C. Kraft Endowed Professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, has been named an Alumni Distinguished Professor by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The professorship is a pre-eminent appointment, recognizing remarkable scholarship and service, as well as extraordinary teaching that has influenced the lives of generations of students.
The Board of Visitors appoints Alumni Distinguished Professors on a 10-year appointment to fewer than 1 percent of university faculty to recognize outstanding contributions to the instructional program of the university.
“I congratulate Dr. Ng for his outstanding service to Virginia Tech as an exemplary educator and researcher,” said Cyril Clarke, Virginia Tech executive vice president and provost. “Both a pioneer in his field of research and an entrepreneur, Dr. Ng has enriched the students whom he has taught and advised.”
With more than 35 years of experience in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and aero-acoustics of gas turbine engines and aero propulsion, Ng has published numerous articles across a variety of propulsion-related research areas, including transonic turbine blade aerodynamics, the development of advanced diagnostic techniques for flow measurement in turbine engines, the acoustics of jet noise, and the acoustics of drones and unmanned air vehicles.
“The college is proud that this honor has been bestowed upon Dr. Ng,” said Julia M. Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. “As a nationally and internationally recognized researcher, a highly respected teacher, and entrepreneur, Dr. Ng has made a significant impact on numerous Virginia Tech undergraduates and graduates because he has been able to bring a multifaceted approach to the classroom and the lab.”
Ng joined the Virginia Tech community in 1984 as an assistant professor after receiving his master’s and doctoral degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980 and 1984, respectively.
Promoted to professor in 1991, Ng founded Techsburg Inc., in 1998, a company located in Blacksburg, that provides engineering services and precision manufacturing to defense, aerospace, and energy industries. Ng’s work with the company included classified and proprietary engineering work for major U.S. engine manufacturers and engineering system integrators, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell, and Solar Turbines.
Known for his work with Techsburg, Ng was named to the Virginia Tech Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2017.
Also, the co-director of Virginia Tech’s Advanced Propulsion and Power Lab, Ng helps lead a team of mechanical engineering and aerospace and ocean engineering researchers in critical areas, including supersonic jet noise reduction, turbulence modeling, and intake distortion flow quantification.
Ng’s achievements as a teacher and researcher have also been noted with the William E. Wine Award in 2014, presented to recognize a history of teaching excellence. He has received the university Certificate of Teaching Excellence four times, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research in 2013, the Sporn Award for Excellence in Teaching Engineering Subjects, and the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers.
In 2019, Ng was elected as a Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and in 1996 as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has held the Christopher C. Kraft Endowed Professorship since 1996.
Written by Rosaire Bushey
