Alan získal bakalářský i magisterský titul v oboru leteckého a kosmického inženýrství na Kansaské univerzitě a coby stipendista nadace Alfreda P. Sloana pro rok 1982 získal magisterský titul v oboru managementu na Massachusettském technologickém institutu.
He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of England’s Royal Academy of Engineering. Alan holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Aeronautical and Astronautical engineering from the University of Kansas, and a Master’s degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a 1982 Alfred P. Sloan Fellow.