Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri is Associate Vice President for Aerospace Center and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is the founding Director of UTEP NASA MIRO Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (cSETR) and holds the endowed Mr. and Mrs. MacIntosh Murchison Chair II in Engineering. Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri’s academic career has evolved within the paradigm of UTEP’s access and excellence mission. He is a part of UTEP’s strategic vision to create abundant educational opportunities to ensure social mobility for the residents of the Paso Del Norte region.

Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri is an internationally renowned expert in aerospace and defense systems. Dr. Choudhuri led the growth of UTEP’s aerospace and defense and energy education and research program from infancy to a nationally recognized program. He has formed strategic collaborations and partnerships with NASA, DOE, DOD, and aerospace and defense industries. Dr. Choudhuri is a key institutional leader for developing and managing the partnership with Lockheed Martin and NASA. Dr. Choudhuri is a member of the Executive Committee of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), which supports NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Dr. Choudhuri serves as the chair of Texas Urban Air Mobility Advisory Committee.  

Dr. Choudhuri leads the university’s partnership with the County of El Paso, the City of El Paso, and the City of Horizon City to expand UTEP academic, research, and economic development expansions in the eastern region of El Paso County, the fastest growing and most underserved region of the County. He is currently overseeing Technology Research and Innovation Acceleration Park in Fabens, Unmanned Aerial Systems Flight Test Range in Tornillo, Aerospace and Defense Small Business Accelerator in Horizon City, and Defense Talent Development Hub in Central El Paso.  

The focus of Dr. Choudhuri’s activities is to catalyze a regional talent and technology development ecosystem by providing strategic capabilities in Aerospace and Defense Technologies and Advanced Manufacturing. He has been at the forefront in creating a “real” Launch-Pad of innovation cluster for the economic development of the greater Southwest Border Region by connecting the area’s engineering talents, UTEP’s excellent research and development facilities and capabilities, and regional economic development funds. Dr. Choudhuri was nominated for the “2019 El Pasoan of the Year Award” for his work with regional economic development stakeholders. Under his direction, cSETR performs frontier research in aerospace and energy engineering while developing regional talents. cSETR is particularly known for its technology development success in Liquid Methane/Liquid Oxygen and AF-M315E green propulsion and oxy-combustion systems. Since its inception in 2009, cSETR has supported 400+ students. More than 85% of these students are from El Paso zip codes. These students have been aggressively recruited to the job market, obtaining positions within academia, federal agencies, and aerospace and defense industries.   

Dr. Choudhuri also led the development of cSETR’s outreach arm NASA MUREP Aerospace Academy Southwest (MAA Southwest) [supported by 2 NASA Education Grants] for rolling out aerospace themed extensive K-12 programs to inspire and engage students from every school district of our region. The MAA Southwest has successfully engaged and prepared more than 8000 direct participant K-12 students and 400 in-service teachers.  

Additionally, it has engaged thousands more non-direct participants, including both adults and students literally, at educational and community outreach events.  

Dr. Choudhuri has secured more than $40 million of external grants, contracts, and infrastructure development projects as principal and co-principal investigators. Dr. Choudhuri has mentored 7 Research Assistant Professors, been the research supervisor of 27 Ph.D. and 86 M.S. graduates, and co-authored more than 160 technical publications with his students. cSETR currently supports an average of 100 undergraduate and graduate students. Eighty percent (80%) of cSETR sponsored students from underrepresented groups in STEM, and thirty percent (30%) are women.  

As a Department Chair from 2010 to 2018, Dr. Choudhuri led the transformation of the Mechanical Engineering Department to a nationally preeminent education and research program. Under his leadership, the enrollment in mechanical engineering graduate and undergraduate programs grew from 482 to 1426 students. During this time, the department also became the top producer of extramural research funding within the university. Dr. Choudhuri led the development of the mechanical engineering doctoral program.  

Dr. Choudhuri has received numerous awards and recognitions, including recognition for Faculty Award for Research Innovation from NASA, multiple Best Paper Awards from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and Millionaire Research Awards, Outstanding Leadership Award, and Outstanding Performance for Securing Extramural Funding Award from UTEP.  

Dr. Choudhuri is a proud alumnus of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, where he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.