David Fleming, who spent 28 years in the College of Engineering and Science, is headed to Ann Arbor for an all-teaching instructor position in engineering at the University of Michigan.
In 1996, armed with a bachelor’s degree from MIT and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from University of Maryland, Fleming arrived at Florida Tech as an assistant professor of aerospace engineering.
“There weren’t many positions open at the time for people specializing in aerospace structures and composite materials, but there was this little university on the East Coast of Florida…” Fleming recalled.
He was later named associate professor and in 2020 began a leadership role in the Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences when he was named department head. He remained in that key role until 2023 before serving as program chair of aerospace engineering.
Highlights of his time here include co-writing a textbook, “Crashworthy Composite Structures” with Karen Jackson from the NASA Langley Research Center, and witnessing – and helping to spur – a remarkable surge in aerospace engineering interest.
The program grew from 13 students per year in 1996 to over 150 incoming freshmen in 2023 and estimates of 180 or more in fall 2024.
Seeing his students succeed was thrilling, he also said. Some are working on the Artemis program or on the B-21 program at Northrop Grumman, and others are succeeding at large and small rocket companies.
Fleming finished at Florida Tech in early August.
