Ian A. Waitz is the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and Director of the Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER), an FAA/NASA/Transport Canada-sponsored Center of Excellence. His principal fields of interest include propulsion, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, reacting flows, aeroacoustics, and, in particular, aspects of the above that relate to environmental issues associated with aircraft design and operation. Professor Waitz pursues a variety of experimental and computational research in these areas. He has written approximately 60 technical publications including a report to the U.S. Congress on aviation and the environment, holds three patents and has consulted for many organizations.

During 2002-2005 he was Deputy Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was an associate editor of the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power. In 2003 Professor Waitz received a NASA Turning Goals Into Reality Award for Noise Reduction. He is a Fellow of the AIAA, and an ASME and ASEE member. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the fields of thermodynamics and energy conversion, propulsion, fluid mechanics, and environmental effects of aircraft. He was honored with the 2002 Class of 1960 Innovation in Education Award and appointment as a MacVicar Faculty Fellow in 2003.