UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The legacy of Mike Micci, the late Penn State professor of aerospace engineering and expert on space propulsion, will live on through a newly established early career professorship in aerospace engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering. Established through a $500,000 gift from Micci’s wife Cathy Cohan and children Sofia and Carmen Micci, the professorship will provide the holder with financial support during the first years of their academic career.
To be known formally as the Dr. Michael M. Micci Early Career Professorship in Aerospace Engineering, the endowment will support an early career faculty member whose teaching, research and scholarship focus on space propulsion or space systems. It will fund the holder’s salary, research expenses, education and travel expenses, graduate and undergraduate student support, and support services.
“Through this gift, we honor Mike’s work and memory by supporting the next generation of aerospace professors who teach and conduct research on space propulsion and mentor students in that area,” said Cohan, who is an assistant research professor with the Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion in the College of Engineering. “We hope that those who hold this professorship will be inspired by Mike’s hard work, curiosity and passion to expand the bounds of knowledge in aerospace engineering and to mentor the next generation of aerospace engineers.”
A professor of aerospace engineering at Penn State for 39 years, Micci earned his bachelor of science and master of science degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. He completed his doctoral degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University, with a focus on rocket propulsion.