Flatau Receives ASME SMASIS Dedicated Service Award

UMD aerospace engineering chair Alison Flatau

Professor Alison B. Flatau, chair of the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Department of Aerospace Engineering, is the 2026 recipient of the Dedicated Service Award given by the Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures, and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS) division within the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

“Alison Flatau is a pioneering leader whose vision and dedication were instrumental in shaping the SMASIS division into what it is today, “ ASME said in a statement announcing the recognition. “She served in both the branch and conference leadership, and played a key role in developing student and young professional programs that recognize student achievements and promote scientific outreach.”

The honor is the latest in a growing succession of accolades for Flatau, who has also received the Educator of the Year Award from Women in Aerospace, the SPIE Smart Structures and Materials Lifetime Achievement Award, the ASME Adaptive Structures and Materials Systems Prize, and a Faculty Service Award from UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering. In 2018, she was selected by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering as a Distinguished Lecturer.

Flatau has been UMD aerospace engineering chair since 2022, having previously served as interim chair. Her teaching and research interests focus on smart materials and structures, with emphasis on magnetostrictive actuator and sensor technologies. She was a Principal Investigator of an Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative on magnetostrictive alloys, which made important contributions to the Department of Defense and the aerospace industry.

“I’m honored and grateful to have received this recognition from ASME’s SMASIS Division,” Flatau said. “The division has been instrumental in advancing bold new applications of smart technology by bringing together scientists and engineers from across many disciplines to share ideas and create synergy. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to contribute to its mission.”

Established in 2006, though with technical committees dating back to the 1990s, the SMASIS division covers a wide spectrum of research areas, including sensing and actuation, adaptive systems dynamics and controls, active and multi-functional materials, bio-inspired systems, and integrated systems.

Work done by division members has explored topics such as vibration, wave and noise controls, energy harvesting, structural health monitoring, and deployable and morphing structures, with applications in the automotive, aerospace, energy, consumer products, and medical technology industries, among others.

Published October 21, 2026