The Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) announced its newest cohort of 38 new members, recognizing their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.

The 2021 class of new members is composed of 29 scientists and engineers elected by their WSAS peers and 9 members recently elected to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, or Medicine, who live or work in Washington State. These new members bring diverse expertise and experience to WSAS.

Kristi Morgansen

A&A Professor and Chair Kristi Morgansen was elected for her leadership and significant advances in nonlinear methods for integrated sensing and control in engineered, bioinspired, and biological flight systems, and for leadership in cross-disciplinary aerospace workforce development.

Morgansen leads the Nonlinear Dynamics and Control Lab, which specializes in nonlinear control theory with a focus on the development of analytical control and estimation methods for integrated sensing and actuation in nonlinear systems, the use of these tools to query basic biological principles, and the translation of the results to traditional and nontraditional engineering platforms. The most notable impacts of her work are in bioinspired sensing and agile flight, control of morphing vehicles, and optimal sensor networks.

She was selected as a Fellow of the AIAA in 2021, is co-founder and co-director of the UW Space Policy and Research Center, and stepped into the role of Director of the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium in 2021.

Morgansen has led pipeline growth of the next generation of skilled aerospace workforce to be responsive to technology needs through industry-academia partnerships, interdisciplinary program innovation, professional development, and depth of experience. She developed and introduced a minor in aeronautics and astronautics to promote interdisciplinary training of the aerospace workforce and led the development and 2012 initial offering of a summer study abroad program for STEM training in autonomous systems. 

Read more: Press release