Aerospace engineering professor earns unprecedented fourth Abe Zarem Educator Award
Published: Mar 20, 2026 1:00 PM
By Dustin Duncan
Majdalani receives the 2025 Abe M. Zarem Educator Award in Astronautics at AIAA SciTech 2026 in Orlando, Florida, on Jan. 12. He is pictured with AIAA President Daniel E. Hastings (right) and Patrick Eid (left), recipient of the Zarem Award and Medallion for Distinguished Achievement in Astronautics.
Joseph C. “Joe” Majdalani, the Hugh and Loeda Francis Chair of Excellence in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has received the prestigious Abe M. Zarem Educator Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for a record fourth time.
The award was presented Jan. 12 at the AIAA SciTech 2026 Forum in Orlando, Florida, recognizing Majdalani’s contributions to aeronautics education and his mentorship of students who excel in research and professional competition.
With this honor, Majdalani becomes the first educator in AIAA history to receive four Zarem Educator Awards. The award is presented annually to two faculty members worldwide — one in aeronautics and one in astronautics — who demonstrate exceptional effectiveness in guiding students toward scholarly and professional excellence.
Majdalani’s awards include three in astronautics (2012, 2017 and 2025) and one in aeronautics (2022).
“Earning this award for a fourth time is an extraordinary achievement and a testament to Dr. Majdalani’s impact as both a researcher and educator,” said Mario Eden, dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. “His students’ continued success at the highest levels reflects the strength of his mentorship.”
Since joining Auburn in 2013, Majdalani has mentored graduate students whose work has earned dozens of national and regional research awards, including best-paper honors and top finishes in technical competitions. He has also served as major faculty advisor to 20 doctoral students who received institutional or statewide Graduate Student of the Year honors.
His students have delivered 40 graduate student best papers and presentations, including 10 AIAA Best Paper Awards at the international level, along with numerous top finishes at the AIAA Southeastern Regional Student Conference. Three former students have also received the Abe M. Zarem Medallion for Distinguished Achievement — Langston L. Williams (2017, Astronautics), Rudy Al Ahmar (2022, Aeronautics) and Patrick Eid (2025, Astronautics).
Majdalani said the success of his students reflects a mentoring approach that emphasizes compelling research ideas and clear communication.
“The research we conduct is clearly leaving a global footprint, and much of that success has been through sustained collaborations,” he said. “My work with Dr. Roy J. Hartfield, our in-house propulsion expert, has led to numerous successful projects, scholarly contributions, and both local and national recognitions. Together, we have tackled cutting-edge propulsion challenges that have translated into impactful publications and award-winning research.”
In addition to the Zarem Educator Award, Majdalani received the 2025 Solid Rockets Best Paper Award, coauthored by his former student, Cody M. Shelton. Shelton, who has coauthored 15 publications is a former Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year, Greater Huntsville Section Graduate Student of the Year, Von Kármán Institute Fellow, Undergraduate Research Fellowship Mentor, Merriwether Graduate Fellow, DoD SMART Scholar, Outstanding First-Year-Experience Mentor and Woltosz Fellow. He now serves as a research mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Mississippi.
Their award-winning paper (AIAA 2025-2332), “Closed-Form Analytical Solutions for Various Thermoacoustic Properties in Rijke Tubes With Different Endpoint Conditions,” has since been published in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer and reflects the sustained impact of Majdalani’s mentorship.
So far, Majdalani has been widely recognized for his research in propulsion science. A Fellow of both AIAA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, he has authored or co-authored more than 360 scholarly publications. His work has contributed to advances in vortex-driven rocket engines, acoustic instability theory, swirl dynamics and analytical modeling techniques used in propulsion systems.
Majdalani’s recent recognitions include the 2025 William F. Walker Teacher Award, the 2024 Wyld Propulsion Award, the 2024 Mark A. Spencer Creative Mentorship Award, and the 2023 Von Kármán Distinguished Lecture in Astronautics. He presently serves in several leadership roles within AIAA, including Southeast Region deputy director for technical activities and honors and awards director for the AIAA Greater Huntsville Section.
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