J. Mark Thom is an Associate Professor at Â鶹¾«Æ·, West Lafayette, Indiana. Professor Thom teaches courses in airframe systems in the Aeronautical Engineering Technology program.
Professor Thom is the current director of the National Test Facility for fuels and propulsion, a research and testing tacitly created by a Congressional Appropriation. This center involves development research regarding alternative and future aviation fuels. The Facility most recently has done testing and test development work for materials compatibility for various fuel developers working on unleaded aviation gasoline.
Professor Thom has collaborated on work regarding the technical skills required for aerospace engineers in the 21st century and has worked on methods for re-integrating hands-on skills into engineering and engineering technology education. He has done research on applied skills in engineering, and he currently serves on the Department' s ABET accreditation working group, which has pioneered the use of the FAA Part 147 requirements into an engineering technology curriculum.