Alumni Day - Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering ...
Alumni Day - Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering ...
Alumni Day - Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering ...
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A L U M N I N E W S<br />
First Annual MMAE <strong>Alumni</strong> <strong>Day</strong><br />
On May 12, 2006, the MMAE Department held its first<br />
annual <strong>Alumni</strong> <strong>Day</strong> on the main campus of IIT.<br />
Retired Professor Bernard Rasof, Professor Sheldon Mostovoy, Professor Marek Dollar (Former MMAE Chairman), Guiru Nash (MMAE ’98), Professor Philip Nash,<br />
Professor Sammy Tin<br />
Emeriti Professor Robert Bonthron, Emeriti Professor Rollin Dix, Dr. John Olin<br />
(Carmel, CA; ME ‘61)<br />
Emeriti Professor Mark Morkovin <strong>and</strong> Professor Hassan Nagib<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong><br />
MMAE 2007<br />
<strong>Day</strong><br />
The 2007 MMAE <strong>Alumni</strong> <strong>Day</strong> will be held on the Main Campus of IIT on<br />
Friday, May 11, 2007, in conjunction with IIT’s graduation activities. Please<br />
mark your calendar <strong>and</strong> plan to attend. Additional information will be mailed in<br />
January 2007.<br />
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A L U M N I N E W S<br />
MMAE <strong>Alumni</strong> Receive IIT Awards<br />
Several MMAE <strong>Alumni</strong> were recognized at an awards luncheon<br />
in May 2006. We congratulate the following awardees:<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong> Service Award is given to an individual who<br />
has demonstrated selfless commitment to the university<br />
through exceptional sustained contributions in the areas<br />
of leadership, service, <strong>and</strong> support.<br />
Hassan Nagib (MAE ‘68, MS ’69, PhD ’72)<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong> Award of Merit is presented annually to an<br />
IIT graduate who has made an outst<strong>and</strong>ing contribution<br />
to the university.<br />
Geoffrey Fear (MET MS’51)<br />
Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded in memoriam to<br />
an individual who achieved personal success, made an<br />
outst<strong>and</strong>ing contribution to his/her chosen field of endeavor,<br />
<strong>and</strong> who achieved recognition among his/her colleagues.<br />
James Hartnett (ME BS ’47)<br />
President Lewis Collens with <strong>Alumni</strong> Service Award winner,<br />
Professor Hassan Nagib<br />
Young Alumnus Award is awarded to an alumnus<br />
who has received an undergraduate degree within the last 10<br />
years <strong>and</strong> has excelled in the areas of leadership <strong>and</strong> professional<br />
success <strong>and</strong>/or has selflessly served the community or<br />
the university.<br />
Jennna McGrath (ME BS ’99)<br />
Professional Achievement Award pays special tribute<br />
to alumni who have achieved personal success <strong>and</strong> made<br />
outst<strong>and</strong>ing contributions to their chosen fields <strong>and</strong> who are<br />
widely recognized <strong>and</strong> lauded by their colleagues.<br />
Lewis Thigpen (ME MS ’69, PhD ’70)<br />
<strong>Alumni</strong> Medal is awarded annually to an individual who<br />
has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to society<br />
through service <strong>and</strong> support <strong>and</strong> who has achievd significant<br />
personal <strong>and</strong> professional success.<br />
Jamshyd Godrej (MAE BS ’72)<br />
President Lewis Collens with <strong>Alumni</strong> Award of Merit winner, Mr. Geoffrey Fear<br />
MMAE Alumnus Named to<br />
National Academy of<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong><br />
William Saric (’69) was named a<br />
Member of the National Academy of<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> in 2006. He is the<br />
Stewart & Stevenson Professor in<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> at Texas A & M<br />
University <strong>and</strong> Director of the Flight<br />
Research Laboratory. Professor<br />
Saric was the recipient of the MMAE<br />
Department’s <strong>Alumni</strong> Recognition<br />
Award in 2005.<br />
MMAE Alumnus Joins Delft<br />
University of Technology<br />
from Virginia Tech<br />
After having served Virginia Tech<br />
for 20 years in the College<br />
of <strong>Engineering</strong> (beginning in 1985),<br />
ESM Professor Zafer Gurdal<br />
(MS ’81) retired to join the faculty<br />
of Delft University of Technology<br />
(Netherl<strong>and</strong>s) as the Chair of<br />
<strong>Aerospace</strong> Structures.<br />
18 | MECHANICAL, MATERIALS AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
A L U M N I N E W S<br />
Where Are Our <strong>Alumni</strong>?<br />
The <strong>Mechanical</strong>, <strong>Materials</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Aerospace</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> Department has<br />
5,411 living alumni in the US. How does your state compare?<br />
Top five states with MMAE <strong>Alumni</strong>:<br />
1. Illinois- 2,736<br />
2. California- 477<br />
3. Florida- 213<br />
4. Michigan- 202<br />
5. Indiana- 165<br />
Source: Illinois Institute of Technology <strong>Alumni</strong> Relations Department, August 2006.<br />
Numbers shown include only living alumni with valid mailing addresses.<br />
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A L U M N I R E C O G N I T I O N A W A R D S<br />
PROFESSOR URMILA GHIA<br />
Professor Urmila Ghia received her BS degree in<br />
<strong>Mechanical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> at the University of Bombay (India)<br />
in 1965, <strong>and</strong> MS <strong>and</strong> PhD degrees in <strong>Mechanical</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Aerospace</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> at IIT in 1967 <strong>and</strong> 1971, respectively.<br />
Since then, she has been at the University of Cincinnati (UC)<br />
where she is currently Professor of <strong>Mechanical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong>.<br />
During 1994 <strong>and</strong> 1995, Dr. Ghia served as Acting Vice-<br />
Provost for Academic Affairs, <strong>and</strong> during 1995-2000, as Head<br />
of the Department of <strong>Mechanical</strong>, Industrial <strong>and</strong> Nuclear<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> at UC.<br />
Her research activities are in the area of analytical/computational<br />
fluid dynamics, focused on unsteady two-dimensional<br />
<strong>and</strong> three-dimensional separated-flow analysis for turbomachinery<br />
flows <strong>and</strong> heat transfer; fluid-structure interactions<br />
in high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) aircraft; <strong>and</strong> adaptive-grid<br />
generation <strong>and</strong> higher-order accurate solution<br />
techniques. She was Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of<br />
Fluids <strong>Engineering</strong> (1999-2000). Presently, she is Chair of<br />
the ASME Fluids <strong>Engineering</strong> Division. She chaired the<br />
AIAA 7th Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference in<br />
1985, <strong>and</strong>, most recently, she chaired the ASME Fluid<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Division Summer Meeting, held jointly with the<br />
International Conference on Nuclear <strong>Engineering</strong>, which<br />
drew nearly 1100 attendees.<br />
She is a Fellow of the Graduate School of UC, a member of<br />
the YWCA Academy of Achievement, <strong>and</strong> has received the<br />
Sigma Xi Research Recognition Award, UC’s Outst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
Woman Award, <strong>and</strong> the YWCA’s Career Woman of<br />
Achievement Award in 1997. In 2004, Dr. Ghia received the<br />
George Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Scientific<br />
Research, <strong>and</strong> in 2005, the BP Faculty Excellence Award.<br />
She is a Fellow of the AIAA.<br />
Professor Ghia is also very active in encouraging the<br />
advancement of women across her campus. She has served<br />
as Co-Chair of WIN (Women’s Initiatives Network) <strong>and</strong> chair<br />
of WILD (Women’s Institute for Leadership Development)<br />
aimed at advancing women <strong>and</strong> staff into policy-making<br />
positions in the academy. She is currently director of UC’s<br />
WISE (Women in Science <strong>and</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong>) Program that<br />
pairs science <strong>and</strong> engineering women undergraduates with<br />
faculty on summer research projects.<br />
20 | MECHANICAL, MATERIALS AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
A L U M N I R E C O G N I T I O N A W A R D S<br />
DR. THOMAS MOREL<br />
Dr. Thomas Morel is the President <strong>and</strong> founder of Gamma<br />
Technologies, Inc. (GTI) located in Westmont, IL. He received<br />
his BS in <strong>Mechanical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> from the Czech Technical<br />
University in Prague in 1965. After working for two years, he<br />
returned to his studies <strong>and</strong> received his MS <strong>and</strong> PhD degrees<br />
in <strong>Mechanical</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> from IIT in 1969 <strong>and</strong> 1972,<br />
respectively. In his MS dissertation he worked as part of a<br />
team designing the rocket-powered l<strong>and</strong> speed record holder<br />
“The Blue Flame.” His contribution (together with that of<br />
Prof. Paul Torda) was the aerodynamic design of the vehicle.<br />
The Blue Flame successfully established the l<strong>and</strong> speed<br />
record in 1970, at 622 mph (1001 km/h). His PhD dissertation<br />
topic was “Modeling of Turbulence in Free Shear Flows.”<br />
He started his career with General Motors R&D Labs focusing<br />
on vehicle aerodynamics where he contributed to basic<br />
research on drag generation on bluff bodies. He also worked<br />
on methods for wind-tunnel design. One of his methods is<br />
still used for the design of contraction cones.<br />
In 1983, Morel was a founder of Integral Technologies, Inc.<br />
(ITI), an engine consulting firm. He was responsible for the<br />
development <strong>and</strong> application of advanced CAE design<br />
methodologies for internal combustion engines. He was the<br />
principal developer of the engine design analysis codes<br />
WAVE <strong>and</strong> IRIS. ITI was acquired in 1988 by Ricardo<br />
Consulting Engineers. After the acquisition, he spent five<br />
years as the Executive Vice President of Ricardo North<br />
America <strong>and</strong> continued to be responsible for commercial software<br />
development.<br />
In 1994, he founded GTI, as an engineering software firm<br />
serving the engine <strong>and</strong> automotive industry. The product of<br />
GTI is GT-SUITE, a CAE software for the design <strong>and</strong> analysis<br />
of engines: engine power, combustion, emissions, noise,<br />
valvetrains, cranktrains, drivetrains, cooling systems, <strong>and</strong><br />
fuel injection, all in one tool. This tool is extensively used by<br />
a large portion of the leading engine <strong>and</strong> vehicle manufacturers<br />
worldwide.<br />
His contributions to engineering have been widely recognized.<br />
He is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers<br />
<strong>and</strong> American Society of <strong>Mechanical</strong> Engineers. He is also a<br />
past Chairman of the ASME Fluids <strong>Engineering</strong> Division.<br />
He holds one U.S. patent.<br />
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