Donald Fraser Named AIAA Fellow

BOSTON, Dec. 14 -- Donald C. Fraser, director of the Boston University (BU) Photonics Center, was elected an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), along with Michael Griffin, NASA administrator, and Alan Mulally, president of Boeing Commercial Airplane Co.
They will be honored at the annual AIAA Fellows Dinner on April 24 and at the Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala on April 25. Both events will be held in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the AIAA's "Inside Aerospace . . . An International Perspective" conference. Former AIAA fellows have included Orville Wright, astronaut Neil A. Armstrong and space shuttle pilot Robert L. Crippen.
Fraser has contributed to a number of aeronautics or astronautics achievements over his career, including the development of the Apollo flight control system, which guided US moon landing missions, the space shuttle control system, US ballistic missile guidance systems and the world’s first all digital fly-by-wire control system. Today, these systems are used in all commercial airplanes.
Before joining Boston University, Fraser served in the Bush administration as the principal deputy under the Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, where he was responsible for managing the acquisition process for the Department of Defense. Prior to his government service, Fraser spent almost 30 years at the Draper Laboratory, where he was executive vice president and COO. The laboratory designed and developed advanced guidance and control systems including the Trident and MX guidance systems and the Apollo guidance, navigation and control system. Early in his career at Draper, Fraser led the Apollo control system design team. He was also on the MIT faculty for many years.
The BU Photonics Center promotes the development of emerging photonics technology companies; it has 20 laboratories, work space for up to 12 startups and access to $40 million worth of equipment. The center has started or accelerated 18 companies that have raised more than $225 million in outside venture capital and seed financing.
For more information, visit: www.www.bu.edu/photonics