Danesh K. Tafti reappointed William S. Cross Professor
Danesh Tafti
Danesh K. Tafti, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been reappointed as the William S. Cross Jr. Professor of Engineering by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands and Executive Vice President and Provost Thanassis Rikakis.
The professorship was created by Cross Sales and Engineering Co., which established in 1984 an endowment for the College of Engineering as a tribute to William S. Cross Jr., a member of the Virginia Tech Class of 1941, on the occasion of his retirement from the company.
Tafti has held the Cross Professorship since 2009.
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2002, Tafti has developed new methods in computational fluid dynamics. He has received more than $19 million in external grants, has published 102 peer-reviewed journal publications, and is the author or co-author of 111 conference proceedings and 17 conference abstracts and presentations.
Tafti has been instrumental in integrating computational fluid dynamics techniques into the College of Engineering curriculum through mentoring senior capstone design projects and student research projects. He engages many of his students in hands-on extracurricular activities and sponsored research.
Tafti has chaired 19 doctoral degree and 19 master’s degree thesis committees and served as a member on an additional 57 Ph.D. and 31 master’s degree thesis committees. He has mentored 14 post-doctoral researchers and one visiting scholar, and has mentored and directed the research of at least 10 undergraduate students.
He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Tafti is also active in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Physical Society.
Tafti received his bachelor's degree from Bombay University, India; a master's degree from Texas Tech University; and a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University.
