Yuwen Zhang is the department chairman of and a James C. Dowell Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. He was a recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research in 2002. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and an associate fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Zhang received the 2010 MU Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity. His research has resulted in more than 240 journal papers and more than 140 conference papers, and he has published four books. Zhang’s research has been funded by the ONR, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation and the MU Research Board. He is serving as co-editor in chief for two international journals, and he is an editorial board member for 10 international journals.