NYU Tandon Industry Professor Iskender Sahin Elected as an ASME Fellow
The rare distinction recognizes decades of excellence in marine hydrodynamics, aerospace engineering, and engineering education
Designing autonomous submarines to explore the liquid methane seas of Titan, Saturn's enigmatic moon? That’s just a typical day of advancing the frontiers of mechanical engineering for Industry Professor Iskender Sahin. Now, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has recognized his extraordinary career by electing him to its prestigious Fellowship, an honor reserved for fewer than 3% of its members.
The distinction couldn't be more fitting for an engineer whose work defies conventional boundaries.
From Defense to Deep Space
Sahin's election recognizes exceptional contributions across marine hydrodynamics, thermo-fluids, and aerospace engineering, disciplines he's advanced through decades of collaboration with NASA and the U.S. Navy. But his impact extends far beyond technical papers in journals such as Ocean Engineering and Journal of Ship Research.
At NYU Tandon's Space and Fluids Laboratory (SaFE Lab), he has partnered with NASA's Glenn Research Center on one of engineering's most audacious challenges: creating a submarine capable of navigating an alien ocean 746 million miles from Earth. The project exemplifies Sahin's approach — applying fundamental engineering principles to problems that seem impossible until someone solves them.
Building Programs, Building Futures
Since joining NYU Tandon in 2011, Sahin has served at various times as associate chair and graduate program director, reimagined the Thermal Engineering curriculum, and pioneered an Aerospace Minor featuring courses in Aircraft Flight Mechanics and Aerodynamics — equipping students for careers that didn't exist when he began his own educational journey.
His mentorship tells an even more compelling story. As a Technical Lead for start-ups, he has guided NYU Tandon students in developing a cloud-based, noninvasive triage tool for intracranial aneurysms and stroke, as well as redesigning a stent for bowel surgery, proof that mechanical engineering can save lives in emergency rooms as readily as it advances spacecraft design.
Under his supervision, several master's and doctoral students have launched careers spanning academia, Naval Research Centers, and industry. Some have founded companies that secured significant funding, carrying forward his philosophy that engineering education should prepare not just engineers, but innovators.
New Frontiers
Sahin has recently been channeling his fluid dynamics expertise toward other biomedical applications. Collaborating with colleagues at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Langone, he's applying mechanical engineering principles to healthcare challenges like glaucoma treatment, demonstrating that the same physics governing submarine navigation can illuminate solutions for human health.
"Dr. Sahin's work has advanced both the theoretical foundations and applied practices in mechanical engineering, exemplifying a career of excellence, dedication, and innovation," the ASME citation notes, acknowledging not just his technical achievements but his decades of committee service, support for emerging engineers, and sustained membership since 1985.
For NYU Tandon, Sahin's elevation to ASME Fellow represents both celebration and promise — recognition that great engineering knows no boundaries, whether exploring Earth's ocean depths, Saturn's distant seas, or the intricate fluid dynamics of the human eye.
