-- Ronald Hess, vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, is a recipient of the Mechanics and Control of Flight Award given by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The award, presented at the institute's Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, recognizes an outstanding recent technical or scientific contribution by an individual in the mechanics, guidance or control of flight in space or the atmosphere. Hess received the award "for advances toward the design and analytical evaluation of flight control systems, emphasizing the safe piloted operation of aircraft."