International search for leading aviation programs finds success on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus
John H. Mott, associate professor of aviation and transportation technology, has been named the new head of Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, where he has been a faculty member since 2006.
In addition to this new position and his existing faculty role, Mott serves as director of the Advanced Aviation Analytics Center of Research Excellence and was the founding editor of the Journal of Aviation Technology & Engineering. He has worked as a flight instructor, a charter pilot, chief pilot, a director of training for a FAR 135 operator, an airline pilot flying the SA-226TC Metroliner, and a corporate pilot in many different models of aircraft.
“With experienced faculty and staff, state-of-the-art flight simulators, our own fleet of aircraft, and the upcoming Purdue National Aviation Symposium, this is an exciting time to be a part of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology,” said Mott. “I appreciate the opportunity to have a continuing impact on the future of this school and on the collegiate aviation education community.”
Mott’s interdisciplinary research focuses primarily on employing data and decision science to improve the quality and safety of services provided within the transportation industry. His work examines the aggregation of distributed data related to various operational aspects of transportation systems, the analysis of that data using deterministic and stochastic mathematical modeling, and the development of related tools to facilitate improvements to the safety and efficiency of those systems.
“John Mott brings a wealth of real-world and faculty experience to this crucial leadership position,” said Carrie Berger, interim dean of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. “We were thrilled to realize that the best candidate for the position was already a part of the Polytechnic family.”
Mott earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Alabama and completed his PhD in civil engineering at Purdue. Prior to joining Purdue, Mott worked as an engineering manager and operated an electronics design and manufacturing business. He is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the board of trustees of the University Aviation Association, the standing committee on airfield capacity and delay of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Mott also chairs IEEE’s Central Indiana section of the Signal Processing / Communications Society.
About the Purdue Polytechnic Institute
The Purdue Polytechnic Institute, one of 10 academic colleges at Purdue University, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in aviation, computing, construction management, engineering technology, technology leadership, and technology education. In addition to Purdue University’s main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue Polytechnic offers degree programs in nine Indiana communities.