Mechanical engineering alums recognized with department awards
Luciano Castillo (2023 recepient), Laura Bukkosy Hooks and Francine Battaglia, professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, stand in front of the newly placed MAE award plaque.
By Elizabeth Egan
Published July 30, 2024
Two alumni from the University at Buffalo’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), Laura Bukkosy Hooks and Kareem Ahmed, have received MAE Alumni Achievement Awards. The awards recognize mechanical and aerospace engineering alums for their outstanding contributions to the engineering field and society.
Hooks received the Distinguished Career Award, in recognition of her dedication to her engineering career in the defense and aerospace industry and focus on national security for the United States.
Hooks holds two patents and has overseen over 1,200 engineers in her numerous leadership roles and her current position as the vice president and general manager of Maritime and Strategic Systems (M&SS) for General Dynamics Missions Systems. She leads programs for the Navy, Air Force, commercial customers and government labs. Hooks has led multidisciplinary teams for the launch control system of submarine nuclear ballistic missiles. She has managed projects for weapon system security solutions, guidance, navigation and electronic systems, mission planning and international work for the United Kingdom and Egypt.
In 2014, Hooks was recognized as the Large Business Innovation and Leadership Woman of Innovation by the Connecticut Technology Counsel. She holds two patents and serves on the board of the Naval Submarine League and the National Defense Industrial Association New England chapter.
Hooks received her PhD and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UB in 1994.
Ahmed, an associate professor in the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received the Career Achievement Award, recognizing his world-class research in hypersonic and space propulsion. His research has broad impact and international importance to demonstrate the world’s first hypersonic flight for stabilized detonation high-hypersonic propulsion. His mechanisms for unconfined deflagration-to-detonation transition has impacted the advancements in high-speed reacting flows that are used today.
At UCF, Ahmed leads creative and technology-crucial projects in the area of advanced propulsion and energy research. He has served as the principal researcher on projects with over $17 million in funding from numerous organizations, including NASA.
He has authored over 100 articles and is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has received many other awards for his work such as the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Faculty Fellowship and the American Chemical Society Doctoral New Investigator Award.
Ahmed earned his master’s degree and PhD in mechanical engineering from UB in 2006 and 2009 respectively. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.
Both Ahmed and Hooks were formally recognized at an award ceremony held by the department on campus at the end of the Spring 2024 semester. Following the ceremony, the department unveiled a new display in Bell Hall that is dedicated to the MAE Alumni Achievement Award and its recipients.
Nominations for the 2025 MAE alumni awards are now being accepted. Visit the MAE Alumni Achievement Awards web page to learn more about submitting a nomination.