In memoriam: Thomas J. Mueller, professor emeritus of aerospace and mechanical engineering
Thomas J. Mueller, professor emeritus of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame and a leading authority on aerodynamics, died Sunday (Dec. 4). He was 88.
A Chicago native, Mueller joined Notre Dame’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering in 1965 after earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of Illinois. He was named the Roth-Gibson Professor of Aerospace Engineering in 1989.
Mueller significantly enhanced Notre Dame’s reputation in aeronautical research. In the 1970s, after making contributions to the understanding of blood flow in artificial heart valves, he began investigating new problem areas in aerodynamics. He was particularly interested in the complex movement of air around different airfoils, and his work in this area brought him international recognition from researchers in fluid dynamics.
“Professor Thomas J. Mueller was a world-renowned experimental aerodynamicist who considered flows over airfoils at both low and high Mach numbers and developed methods of flow visualization,” said Joseph Powers, professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering.
Mueller was a gifted teacher who taught at Notre Dame for 40 years.
“I had the incredible fortune to have Tom as a professor and research adviser during my undergraduate days,” said David Go, the Viola D. Hank Professor and Chair of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Notre Dame. “Not only was Tom a brilliant aerodynamicist, he was a kind and supportive mentor whose impact on our department continues to this day.”
Young faculty also benefited from Mueller’s mentorship.
“Tom was a great colleague and one of my mentors when I started my career at Notre Dame,” said Scott Morris, professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and director of the Institute for Flow Physics and Control. “He was passionate about aerospace engineering and wanted the best education for our students.”
Mueller also made pivotal contributions to his department’s graduate program. He served as director of engineering research and graduate studies from 1985 to 1989 and as department chair from 1988 to 1996.
Mueller published several books and many articles in scholarly journals, including the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets and the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. He was a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Royal Aeronautical Society.
He is survived by his two daughters, three sons and nine grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3:30 p.m. Monday (Dec. 12) at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. A visitation will precede the Mass from 2 to 3 p.m. at Palmer Funeral Home-Hickey Chapel, 17131 Cleveland Road, South Bend.
Latest Faculty & Staff
- Notre Dame’s Fightin’ Irish Battalion receives Department of Defense award as nation’s top Army ROTC programThe United States Department of Defense honored the University of Notre Dame’s Army ROTC Fightin’ Irish Battalion as the nation’s top Army collegiate program for the 2023-24 academic year. This will be the first time the unit has received the department’s Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award, which recognizes the program’s achievements in recruiting, educating, training and commissioning leaders of character to be the next generation of military officers.
- In memoriam: Karl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy EmeritusKarl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, died on April 28 from pancreatic cancer. He was 77. Born in post-World War II Germany, Ameriks’ family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Yale University. He came to the Department of Philosophy at Notre Dame in 1973 during a formative time for the department, which had transitioned from a predominantly Thomist focus to the more analytical American philosophy in the 1960s.
- Notre Dame psychologist explores how children best learn math — and yes, timed practice helpsUniversity of Notre Dame professor of psychology Nicole McNeil recently co-authored a report that examines the best way for children to learn arithmetic — whether that’s by memorizing number values and multiplication tables, or by studying math at a deeper, conceptual level. The report, “What the Science of Learning Teaches Us About Arithmetic Fluency,” was published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest and shows that children learn most effectively when instruction follows an evidence‑based cycle: grounding facts in conceptual understanding, using brief timed practice to make those facts automatic, and then returning to discussion and reflection to deepen that knowledge.
- ’Tis the season for ticks and mosquitoes. A medical entomologist talks about these pests and how to avoid them.Notre Dame expert Lee Haines explains the risks mosquitoes and ticks pose to the Midwest and discusses how the public can best protect themselves and family members (including pets) from these bloodthirsty pests.
- ND Expert on tariffs and trade policy: ‘How should the US be engaged with the rest of the world?’To make sense of the new administration's recent tariff announcements and policy changes, Robert Johnson, the Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics at Notre Dame, explains how tariffs affect global economies and what this means for U.S. engagement in global trade.
- In memoriam: W. David Solomon, founding director of the Center for Ethics and CultureW. David Solomon, associate professor of philosophy emeritus and founding director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, died on February 26, 2025. He was 81.
