Aerospace Engineering Chair Appointed Prestigious FXB Professorship

Prior to joining the University of Michigan Professor Cesnik received his undergraduate degree (1987) and masters (1989) in  Aeronautical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, Brazil before earning his MS (1991) and PhD (1994) in Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Once graduating from Georgia Tech, he was the Boeing Assistant and Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and has had his active private pilot since 1981 and UAS remote pilot since 2016.

With over 400 publications as archival journal and conference papers, Professor Cesnik is a leader in the field, having received over 20 various awards and accolades both from the University of Michigan and internationally. As a leading researcher, his work which has focused on computational and experimental aeroelasticity of very flexible aircraft; coupled nonlinear aeroelasticity and flight dynamic response in high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) aircraft and advanced jet transport aircraft; aerothermoelastic modeling, analysis and simulation of hypersonic vehicles; active vibration and noise reductions in helicopters.

Throughout his career, Professor Cesnik has served as founder and director of the Active Aeroelasticity and Structures Research Laboratory (A2SRL), has previously directed the Airbus-Michigan Center for Aero-Servo-Elasticity of Very Flexible Aircraft (CASE-VFA) and is former American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Director for the Aerospace Design and Structures Group. He is also a Fellow of various prestigious organizations including the Vertical Flight Society, the Royal Aeronautical Society, and the AIAA where he is an elected member of the Council of Directors.

Previously Professor Cesnik held the title of Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson Collegiate Professor from 2019 – 2024, in honor of a famed U-M Aeronautical Engineering alumnus who founded Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and designed the SR-71 Blackbird, one of the fastest air-breathing aircraft on record. 

We are proud to have Professor Cesnik as a key pivotal figure within the Department of Aerospace Engineering. With a long track record of excellence and groundbreaking research, this professorship recognizes his commitment to the university and the legacy behind the department. 

About the FXB Professorship:

The FXB Professorship, previously held by Professor Peretz Friedmann since 1999, was established by the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation in 1997 to honor the memory of University of Michigan graduate Francois-Xavier Bagnoud, who earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering before his tragic death in 1986. The professorship was established to enhance the department’s research and teaching portfolio in relation to vertical flight, due to Francois-Xavier Bagnoud’s enthusiasm for helicopter flight.

To honor his death, Francois-Xavier’s parents, Countess Albina du Boisrouvray and Bruno Bagnoud, and his close friends from Michigan founded the François-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation. Since its inception in 1989, the foundation has pursued a large array of humanitarian projects through the promotion of fundamental rights and social justice, work towards the eradication of extreme poverty, and other efforts to support communities around the world. Through their global work, they have continued to instill the values and generosity that guided Francois-Xavier Bagnoud’s life and have changed millions of lives.

Academically, the foundation has also provided the University of Michigan with a number of graduate student fellowships, the aforementioned chaired professorship, the Center for Rotary and Fixed Wing Design, and the annual FXB Aerospace Prize of $250,000. This generosity has helped launch the careers of dozens of aerospace engineers and produced hundreds of fond memories of the University of Michigan, a place dear to François-Xavier’s heart.