The Aerospace Engineering program welcomes a new faculty member, Professor Scott McCormack, who started at Berkeley on January 1, 2026. His research interests are in the area of composite materials under extreme environments with a focus on experimental high temperature thermodynamics. This field of research is critical for the development of next generation leading edge materials for hypersonic platforms in atmospheric flight and for nuclear thermal propulsion systems that will propel humanity through the solar system and beyond.

“I am excited to join the Materials Science and Engineering department and the Aerospace Engineering Program in UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering!”, says McCormack, who is already busy setting up his research lab on the Berkeley campus. Per Panos Papadopoulos, Director of Aerospace Programs at Berkeley, “Scotty McCormack is a tremendous researcher with an outstanding track record in ultra-high temperature materials, whose arrival at Berkeley stands to further strengthen the aerospace materials area”.