Ian A. Waitz is Dean of the School of Engineering, the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a MacVicar Fellow at MIT and served as Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics from 2008 until his appointment as Dean in 2011.

He is also the Director of the Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER), an FAA, NASA, DOD, EPA and Transport Canada-sponsored Center of Excellence with participants from a dozen universities and 50 industry and government organizations. Waitz has made advances in gas turbine engines, fluid mechanics, combustion, and acoustics. The principal focus of his current work is on the modeling and evaluation of climate, the air-quality and noise impacts of aviation, and the assessment of technological, operational, and policy options for mitigating these impacts. In addition to scholarly publications, Waitz has contributed to several influential policy documents and scientific assessments including a report to the U.S. Congress on aviation and the environment. He holds three patents, and has consulted for many organizations.

In 2003, Waitz received a NASA Turning Goals Into Reality Award for Noise Reduction, and in 2007 he was awarded the FAA Excellence in Aviation Research Award. He is a Fellow of the AIAA, and an ASME and ASEE member.