David Spencer, associate professor of aerospace engineering, was named one of the winners of the 2006 Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award. Teetor Award winners are given the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with practicing engineers.
The award pays for award winners to travel to the group's AeroTech Congress and Exhibition in October 2007. They will be allowed to attend any technical sessions and technical committee meetings, as well as take part in any visits to industrial and research facilities during the event.
Spencer has been a member of the Penn State faculty since 1999 and serves as the aerospace engineering department's director of graduate studies. His research interests include theoretical and applied astrodynamics, space debris dynamics, continuous-thrust orbit transfers, high-accuracy orbit determination and trajectory optimization. Spencer's professional experience includes the Aerospace Corp., the Air Force Phillips Laboratory, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky, a master of science in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University and a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering sciences from the University of Colorado.
Spencer is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a senior member of the American Astronautical Society. He holds memberships in the American Society of Engineering Education, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma.