Dr. Helen Reed was among seven faculty members appointed as a Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor. The designation identifies faculty who are preeminent in their fields and have made at least one landmark contribution to their discipline. The title is among the highest honors awarded to faculty members.
Reed directs the Computational Stability and Transition Lab, as well as the AggieSat Lab satellite program. She is widely regarded as an expert in small satellite design, hypersonics, boundary-layer stability and transition, and energy-efficient aircraft.
Reed is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas and has received numerous professional awards and honors, including being named a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Physical Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). She is the recipient of the 2018 AIAA/National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship in Aerospace Engineering, the 2018 AIAA Fluid Dynamics Award, the 2016 Kate Gleason Award from ASME, the 2007 Atwood Award from the American Society for Engineering Education and AIAA, and the 2014 Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award from the state of Texas.
Reed is a member of the United States Air Force (USAF) Scientific Advisory Board, the USAF Studies Board Development Planning Roundtable, the NAE Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group, and the NATO Science and Technology Organization Applied Vehicle Technology 346 Technical Team in Hypersonic Transition. She is a co-founder of Chandah Space Technologies.