In an elegant Wednesday, March 26 ceremony, USC Viterbi School of Engineering installed the inaugural Choong Hoon Cho Chair in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The chair is named after Choong Hoon Cho, the late chairman of Korean Airlines and father of USC Trustee and alumnus Y.H. Cho.
Professor Michael Kassner, the holder of the chair, is an expert in the area of mechanical behavior of metals, materials creep, fracture, fatigue and thermodynamics, and joined USC in 2003 as AME department chair. More recently, he oversaw a nearly $1 billion basic research budget for the U.S. Navy as director of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Washington, D.C. Kassner received the U.S. Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Medal for his service.
“Thanks to the inspired support of Y.H. Cho and the Boeing Company, the Choong Hoon Cho Chair in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering will serve as a vital cornerstone of academic excellence,” USC President C.L. Max Nikias said.