UMD Names Leishman to Rank of Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering

The University of Maryland (UMD) has honored Dr. J. Gordon Leishman with the rank of Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering. Leishman joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Maryland in 1986. Promoted to the rank of professor in 2000, Leishman then served as the Minta Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering from 2004 to 2014.

Leishman is currently a Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

He holds B.S., Ph.D., and D.S. (Eng.) degrees in aeronautics and fluid mechanics and in aerospace engineering from the University of Glasgow. Before joining the faculty at UMD, Leishman was an aerodynamicist for Westland Helicopters. He is an internationally recognized specialist in low-speed aerodynamics, experimental aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing, as well as in rotorcraft and wind turbine aerodynamics. Leishman has authored over 100 journal papers on rotorcraft aerodynamics, aeroacoustics and experimental aerodynamics.

In addition, Leishman has authored two books, including Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics, published by Cambridge University Press. He is a Technical Fellow of the American Helicopter Society and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, and is a former editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Helicopter Society.

In his spare time, Leishman enjoys riding and restoring vintage motorcycles. A pastime that earned him the Beatrice Landis Memorial Award in 2014 for his restoration of a 1970 BSA Lightning motorcycle.

Published January 6, 2016