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Lambros Named ASME Fellow

Professor John Lambros makes the third AE faculty member this year to have achieved the status of Fellow within the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Sixty Years and Going Strong

Emeritus Prof. Harry H. Hilton reached a remarkable milestone in September 2009 — his 60th continuous year at the University of Illinois.

College Honors Archambault

The university, college, and Department of Aerospace Engineering welcomed Colonel Lee J. Archambault, BS 82, MS 84 AE, a distinguished United States Air Force pilot and NASA astronaut, back to campus during the Foundation weekend Oct. 2-4.

AE undergrad wins National Student Role Model Award

AE undergraduate Joseph Gonzalez has been selected as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ National Student Role Model of the Year

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Prussing

John E. Prussing

Professor Emeritus

prussing@uiuc.edu		 Return to: Faculty
Office address Mailing Address Research Group
306C Talbot Lab
217-333-8231		 306 Talbot Lab
104 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL  61801		  
Research Areas
Prof. Prussing's primary research areas are orbital mechanics and optimal spacecraft trajectories.

View more information about Professor Prussing Dr. Prussing is Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, first joining the faculty in 1969. He has been thesis advisor for 33 MS students and 11 PhD students and has published over 50 technical articles in 13 refereed archival journals. References to these articles appear in 55 journals in English and in journals in Russian, Chinese, French, and Portuguese.

He is co-author (with Bruce A. Conway) of the popular textbook Orbital Mechanics, published by Oxford University Press and used at various universities in the US and Canada. His professional service has included Associate Editor of the Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Chair of the Astrodynamics Technical Committee of the AIAA, Member of the Space Flight Mechanics Committee of the American Astronautical Society (AAS), and Technical Chair of several AIAA/AAS astrodynamics conferences.

Education:

  • ScD in Instrumentation, MIT 1967
  • SM in Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT 1963
  • SB in Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT 1963 

Academic Positions:

  • Assistant Research Engineer and Lecturer, University of California, San Diego, CA, 1967-69
  • Lecturer, University of California Extension, 1969
  • Assistant Professor, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, University of Illinois, 1969-72
  • Associate Professor, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, University of Illinois, 1972-81
  • Assistant Dean, College of Engineering (50%), University of Illinois, 1976-77
  • Professor, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, University of Illinois, 1981-2003   
  • Professor, Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois, 2003-2007
  • Professor Emeritus, Aerospace Engineering, 2007–present

Major Honors and Awards:

  • AIAA Fellow
  • AAS Fellow
  • Mechanics and Control of Flight Award, AIAA
  • Dirk Brouwer Award, AAS
  • Campus Finalist, UIUC Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 1982 and 1983
  • Named on An Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students 20 times, most recently for Spring 2007.
  • AAE Department Teacher of the Year 1975, 1979, 1984, 1991, 2007

Selected Publications:

  • Orbital Mechanics  by John E. Prussing and Bruce A. Conway,  Oxford University Press, 1993
  • Jo, J-W., and Prussing J.E. "A Procedure for Applying Second-Order Conditions in Optimal Control Problems", Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics,   Vol. 23, No. 2, Mar-Apr  2000,  pp. 241-250.
  • Prussing, J.E., "A Class of Optimal Two-Impulse Rendezvous Using Multiple-Revolution Lambert  Solutions", The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences., Vol. 48, No. 2 and 3, Apr-Sep 2000, pp. 131-148.
  • Coverstone, V. L., and Prussing, J.E., "Technique for Escape from Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit Using a Solar Sail", Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 628-634,  Jul-Aug 2003.
  • Prussing, J.E., and Sandrik, S.L., "Second-Order Necessary Conditions and Sufficient Conditions Applied to Continuous-Thrust Trajectories," Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 28, No. 4, Jul-Aug 2005, pp. 812-816.