On Wednesday, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering will install Professor Michael Kassner as the inaugural Choong Hoon Cho Chair in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Named in honor of Choong Hoon Cho, the late founder of Korean Air, the chair was made possible by his son Yang Ho (Y.H.) Cho, a USC alumnus serving on the USC Board of Trustees and the USC Viterbi School Board of Councilors, as well as aerospace company Boeing.
Endowed chairs serve as a means to attract, honor, and retain top-level globally prominent faculty who are among the best in their field, and provide invaluable financial support above and beyond salary for use in research, teaching, and other academic endeavors at the university.
| WHO: | C.L. Max Nikias, President, University of Southern California |
| Yannis C. Yortsos, Dean, USC Viterbi School of Engineering | |
| Yang Ho (Y.H.) Cho, Chairman and CEO, Korean Air | |
| Michael Kassner, Professor, USC Viterbi Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering | |
| WHAT: | Professor Michael Kassner officially installed as the Choong Hoon Cho Chair in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering |
| WHEN: | March 26, 2014, 3:00 – 5:00 PM |
| WHERE: | University of Southern California, Ronald Tutor Hall (RTH), Room 526 |
| 3710 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089 | |
| Enter through Gate 6 on Vermont Ave. & 36th Pl. and present your press credentials to the gate attendant to receive a parking pass. |
Michael Kassner joined the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2003 as professor and chair of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, as well as professor of materials science. His research focuses on the mechanical behavior of metals, materials creep, fracture, fatigue and thermodynamics. He has published three books and has authored or co-authored over 200 published articles. He serves on several editorial and review boards for major scientific journals, and is a fellow of the American Society of Metals (ASM), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
About the USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Engineering Studies began at the University of Southern California in 1905. Nearly a century later, the Viterbi School of Engineering received a naming gift in 2004 from alumnus Andrew J. Viterbi, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm now key to cell phone technology and numerous data applications. Consistently ranked among the top graduate programs in the world, the school enrolls more than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students, taught by 174 tenured and tenure-track faculty, with 60 endowed chairs and professorships. http://viterbi.usc.edu
