Dr. Achille Messac is the Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences at Howard University. He provides academic and administrative leadership, vision, and oversight for undergraduate and graduate programs in Architecture and Design, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. Previously, Dr. Messac served as the Dean of Engineering, at Mississippi State University. Throughout his career, Dr. Messac has held academic and administrative leadership positions with increasing responsibilities, including Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Syracuse University and prior to that as Acting Department Head for the Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering Department at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was also elected and served as the Faculty Senate President. He has authored/coauthored more than 240 peer- reviewed publications, and frequently serves as industry expert and conference speaker. Dr. Messac is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has received numerous awards throughout his career including the AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award. He serves as the member of the Board of Directors of AIAA and is the Technical Director for Aerospace Design and Structures Group, in charge of nine Technical Committees. Dr. Messac is an Editorial Board Member of Mechanical Engineering and MDO Editor.
Dr. Messac received his M.S. and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.