Sung R. Choi

Dr. Sung Choi is Science & Technology Lead at Materials Engineering, Naval Air Warfare Center- Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, Maryland.

He received his BE, MS, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Yonsei University (Seoul),  University of Washington, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst, respectively.

He has over 35 years of professional experience, including 17 years at the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland (OH) as Principal Scientist from 1988 to 2006 and 18 years with NAVAIR since 2006.

His primary area of work has been on assessments, modeling and transitioning of brittle materials systems including advanced monolithic ceramics, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), thermal/environmental barrier coatings (T/EBCs), and optical materials for air vehicles and aeroengines applications. He has published over 250 authored and coauthored technical papers in journals, conference proceedings, book chapters, and government reports. He is a recipient of 11 Best Paper Awards from professional societies such as the ACerS and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is a Fellow of NAVAIR and a Fellow of ASME as well.

He is an active Society member for 34 years in affiliation with the Engineering Ceramics Division and has been involved in numerous Society meetings, conferences, and symposia for more than 30 years as attendee and presenter. He has served as session chair and invited speaker on numerous occasions and also served as a co-organizer of “International Symposium on Ceramic Matrix Composites” at the Society annual meetings for the last 15 years.

Dr. Choi, a national/international figure on CMCs in propulsion applications, continues working through a variety of propulsion materials programs within/with Navy, Department of Defense, NASA, government agencies, OEMs, small businesses, and academia.