Two J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty members, Dr. David Claridge and Dr. Eric Petersen, were honored with the 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award.
The Association of Former Students funds the award. It is among the most prestigious awards presented to Texas A&M faculty and staff, recognizing achievement in teaching, research, individual student relationships, continuing education/extension, graduate mentoring, staff and administration.
Claridge and Petersen are among a group of 25 Texas A&M faculty members who were honored with the award this year. The recipients will be recognized during the Faculty Affairs Spring Awards Celebration.
Claridge received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Graduate Mentoring. He joined Texas A&M as a professor in 1986, teaching and mentoring students who are now faculty at Texas A&M. Over the years, he served as an advisor to well over 100 graduate students and on countless graduate committees. He takes pride in learning students’ aspirations and guiding them toward achieving their goals.
“I am very grateful but also humbled knowing how many great professors we have at Texas A&M,” said Claridge. “I was thankful to be nominated by our department, but never seriously imagined I would receive the award.”
Claridge was also honored with the 2024 Outstanding Graduate & Professional Student Mentoring Award from the Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School for his outstanding success in mentoring graduate and professional students.
Petersen received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Research. His research areas and interests include energy systems, propulsion, advanced experimental techniques, and the combustion chemistry of fuels and propellants.
As a researcher in both industry and academia, Petersen has been at the forefront of developing and operating state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for studying the combustion behavior of fuels and related mixtures. Many of these facilities are unique worldwide, and most have high-pressure capabilities.
Over the past few decades, Petersen’s team’s laboratory research has contributed to the fundamental understanding and modeling of high temperature and reacting flows, and they have developed methods and ingredients for novel rocket propellants.
“I am honored and humbled by receiving such a prestigious award from The Association of Former Students,” said Petersen. “I see this as an award not just for me but for the many Aggie student researchers who have worked in my group on my research projects over the past two decades at Texas A&M.”