LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA has proudly announced that Ann R. Karagozian, distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was appointed as their inaugural director. The Promise Armenian Institute is a groundbreaking entity within the UCLA International Institute and is a hub for world-class research and teaching on Armenian Studies. The Institute coordinates new and ongoing research and public impact programs across UCLA and beyond.
In this role, Professor Karagozian will be responsible for administering and setting the overall direction, in addition to overseeing and helping to coordinate the many anticipated activities of the Institute, including new and ongoing teaching, research and public impact programs. The Promise Armenian Institute will also be adding a new Armenian Studies Center, and Professor Karagozian will be involved in the selection of its first director.
“We are thrilled to have Professor Karagozian lead The Promise Armenian Institute and join our team at the UCLA International Institute,” said Cindy Fan, Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement.
“Professor Karagozian’s leadership and knowledge along with her passion to promote Armenian studies within the local and global communities is superb, and we are looking forward to her guidance and counsel as we continue to grow,” said Dr. Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH, Chief, Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Director, Melvin & Bren Simon Digestive Diseases Center, Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Professor Karagozian is the immediate past Interim Vice Chancellor for Research for the UCLA Campus. She is also a Past Chair of the UCLA Academic Senate (2010-11). She serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Armenia (AUA), which is affiliated with the University of California, and chairs the AUA Board’s Educational Policy Committee. She also has served on Boards for Haigazian University (Beirut, Lebanon), the Armenian Missionary Association of America, and the United Armenian Congregational Church (Los Angeles).
Professor Karagozian currently heads UCLA’s Energy and Propulsion Research Laboratory and is the director of the joint UCLA-Air Force Research Laboratory Collaborative Center for Aerospace Sciences. She has been a faculty member in the MAE Department at UCLA since 1982, having received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in that year. Ann’s research interests lie in fluid mechanics and combustion, with applications to improved engine efficiency, reduced emissions, alternative fuels, and advanced rocket and air breathing propulsion systems.
Among her many affiliations, Professor Karagozian is a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She twice received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service from the U.S Air Force (2001, 2010), and is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Beta Kappa, the Combustion Institute, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Society of Women Engineers. She is a Past Chair and Division Councilor of the American Physical Society/Division of Fluid Dynamics.
About The Promise Armenian Institute
The Promise Armenian Institute is a groundbreaking new entity within the UCLA International Institute. Made possible with a $20 million gift from the estate of Kirk Kerkorian, the largest gift that the International Institute has received, The Promise Armenian Institute positions UCLA to significantly build upon its more than 50 years of history of Armenian Studies, which currently includes two endowed faculty chairs. This new institute will be the hub for world-class research and teaching on Armenian Studies, and for coordinating new and ongoing research and public impact programs across UCLA, from social sciences to health sciences, from humanities to music, the arts, to engineering, and from public policy to management. The Promise Armenian Institute’s size, scope, and interdisciplinary approach make it the first of its kind in the world.
Guest Contributor
Latest posts by Guest Contributor (see all)
- Nora Armani to perform Mercedes and Zaruhi in Boston - April 24, 2024
- Message on the occasion of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide - April 23, 2024
- St. Gregory Church in Indian Orchard celebrates 90th anniversary - April 23, 2024
My congratulations to Dr. Ann Karagozian. During the late 1970s, I was a doctoral student at UCLA and was assigned as a teaching assistant for Engineering Mechanics classes. I vividly remember Ann as being one of the brightest students in the class. She has proved to be an exceptional professional and administrator in one of the leading educational institutions in the world today and an honor to the Armenian community and to the leading Professional US Institutions.