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
- Will a robot take my job? Notre Dame researcher says this view is overly pessimisticResearch recently published by Yong Suk Lee, an assistant professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, found that industrial robots, particularly those used within the automotive industry, complemented human workers rather than replaced them — some even working collaboratively, side-by-side.
- Heather Reynolds to testify before Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and WelfareHeather Reynolds, the Michael L. Smith Managing Director of the University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), will testify before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare on Wednesday (March 29) at the hearing “Welfare is Broken: Restoring Work Requirements to Lift Americans Out of Poverty."
- The organization of sex trafficking: Study reveals entrepreneurial cycle of human exploitationA new study from Dean Shepherd, the Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Entrepreneurship in the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, examines how human traffickers systematically target girls and women from impoverished villages in India and take them to big cities like Mumbai, where they transform objections into compliance.
- Africana studies professor Zach Sell wins Paul E. Lovejoy PrizeZach Sell’s book, “Trouble of the World: Slavery and Empire in the Age of Capital,” has won the 2022 Paul E. Lovejoy Prize from the Journal of Global Slavery for its excellence and originality in a major work related to global slavery. The panel of judges unanimously awarded the prize to the assistant professor in Notre Dame’s Department of Africana Studies, describing the book as meticulously researched and beautifully written.
- ‘You are not alone’: Q&A with Jessica Payne, expert on sleep, stress and memoryWomen often talk about the struggles they face feeling pinched between family and work obligations. As a result, many have trouble getting enough quality sleep, managing stress and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. These issues are very near and dear to the heart of Notre Dame’s Jessica Payne, professor of psychology and director of the Sleep, Stress and Memory (SAM) Lab, whose research focuses on how sleep and stress influence psychological function, well-being and human memory.
- The invasion of Iraq: Perspectives on war 20 years laterUniversity of Notre Dame experts look back on this 20-year anniversary and discuss whether those objectives were adequately met, and the aftermaths of war and peace on the Iraqi people and on the U.S.