CHAIR’S MESSAGE
FROM CLASSICAL MECHANICS TO MODERN IMPACT
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any of society’s most promising technological advances are being developed by mechanical engineers. From automated vehicles to smarter materials to modern power sources to novel applications of robotics and more, we are designing, fabricating, and testing tomorrow’s innovations today here at the University of Delaware. Our department received a major boost with the recent announcement of a $1 million gift to establish the Terri Connor Kelly and John Kelly Career Development Professorship in Mechanical Engineering. We are deeply grateful to Terri (BSME, COE ’83) and John Kelly (BE ’83) for their magnificent gift, which will play a critical role in recognizing and rewarding outstanding scholarship and mentorship in our department. We are proud to announce that Prof. Andreas Malikopoulos has been named the inaugural Career Development Professor under this endowment (see inside back cover).
@me.udel.edu
@UDengineering
University of Delaware Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Our faculty and students push the field of mechanical engineering forward, and I am consistently impressed by their ingenuity and dedication. Our professors have earned national recognition from organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Society of Engineering Education, and they have also received accolades for community service and engagement. Our graduate students are not only scholars—they are also inventors, entrepreneurs and awardwinning teachers. Our undergraduate students master concepts on paper and then utilize our Design Studio to design and build new products. Our alumni blaze influential paths in industry and academia. The pages that follow offer a snapshot of our priorities and accomplishments over the past year, and I hope you will follow along as we embark on even more exciting intellectual adventures in the months to come. For one, we are expanding research and education in additive manufacturing and
UD MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
making strategic hires in this area. This is an interdisciplinary effort at the University of Delaware that will include several mechanical engineers and colleagues at the worldrenowned Center for Composite Materials. In another interdisciplinary project, a team of mechanical engineers is working with colleagues in UD’s College of Agricultural and Natural Resources to deploy robots to optimize maize crop production. We also have a promising collaboration with the Delaware Department of Transportation to deploy two autonomous shuttles to UD’s campus in the near future. Our biomechanical engineers are collaborating with physical therapists to determine the best ways to help people maintain mobility after an injury or stroke. These are just a few of many developments we are proud to share. We have additional interdisciplinary projects on the horizon, and we are expanding our industry partnerships to give faculty and students even more opportunities to change the world. Our department is also growing and becoming more diverse—trends we plan to continue. Mechanical engineering is one of the foundational disciplines of engineering, and its role in improving the health of our planet and the quality of life of its inhabitants continues to grow. At the University of Delaware Department of Mechanical Engineering, we have 126 years of history behind us and an even brighter future ahead. Philanthropy is vital to our progress, and we are again grateful to Terri and John Kelly for endowing our department’s first Career Development Professorship. To keep up with our news and events and learn how to get involved, visit me.udel. edu and join the conversation via the social media channels listed on this page. AJAY PRASAD
DEPARTMENT CHAIR ENGINEERING ALUMNI DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR