Spring/Summer 2013 - Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering
Spring/Summer 2013
M
E News
Inside:
Professor Joachim Heberlein Retires
New faculty strengthen renewable energy research
100 years: Chinese students at the U of M
from the department
Head
Dear Alumni and Friends,
Writing my ME News greetings to you each issue is one
of my favorite things to do, as it allows me the time to
celebrate all the wonderful things going on in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering.
On Friday, May 10th the Class of 2013 walked through
commencement and we awarded about 210 Bachelor
of Science degrees, 45 Master of Science degrees and
15 PhD degrees. I am always inspired as we steward so
much intellectual talent out the door and into the workplace. It reminds me that the future is in good hands.
That same day, the college hosted a 50th reunion celebration and inducted the Class of 1963 into the Golden
Medallion Society. The celebration includes a day of
lectures and tours on campus which is open to all of our
alumni who have celebrated their 50th anniversary. I
am delighted to report that one of the featured faculty
that day was ME Assistant Professor Tim Kowalewski,
who joined our faculty just last year. When we first met,
Tim shared with me that early in his undergraduate
career he took a thorough look at the fields of medicine
and engineering and realized that he “could do a lot
more for medicine as an engineer than as a doctor.” I
found that inspiring! His awareness of how much more
technology could do for the medical field compelled him
to pursue his science and engineering education. Tim
spoke on his teaching and research in the emerging field
of computational surgery (the fusion of signal process-
ME News is published twice a year by the
Department of Mechanical Engineering for alumni,
students and friends of the department. Circulation is
11,000+.
Comments or submissions may be sent to:
Nancy G. Johnson, editor, 111 Church Street SE,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 or by e-mail:
[email protected].
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity
educator and employer. ©2013 by the Regents of the
University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Printed by
the University of Minnesota Printing Services.
ON THE COVER: Assistant Professor Jiarong Hong
leads his students on a tour of the EOLOS wind turbine
facility at UMore Park, Rosemount, Minnesota.
ing, controls, and cyber-physical systems) and the nextgeneration surgical robotics to an overflowing crowd of
alumni from across all departments in CSE.
Our last ME Alumni Network (ME-AN) gathering was
in April at Cummins Power Generation where we toured
the production plant. I thank our host, Paul Plahn
ME’68, for sponsoring the event. I was delighted to see
over 100 alumni on the tours spanning many generations of graduates. If you have a suggestion for a future
ME-AN event or topic, please email Jim Rutzick, ME
’66, at [email protected].
I have mixed news on our two major building projects.
The renovation of the old ME Building may be on hold
as the Minnesota Legislature closed this spring without
mustering enough bipartisan support to help the State
fund much needed upgrades to Minnesota’s aging higher-ed facilities. At this point we continue with phase
one design plans but phases two and three of the renovation may be delayed. In the next legislative session, we
will be asking for your support again to push the ME
renovation forward. I am delighted to report, however,
that the construction for the engine lab relocation has
started, funding for new dynamometers has been secured, and we will start to move in fall semester 2013.
My warmest thanks to all of you who gave a gift to the
ME Department through the annual fund last year.
Most annual fund gifts are directed to the ME Strategic
Initiatives Fund (formerly called the ME Discretionary
Fund). I rely on this fund to leverage unexpected opportunities for our students and faculty. Your gifts help
the department in many ways - from student support to
funding teaching and research opportunities that were
not known of (or budgeted for!). I want to remind you
that your gift, combined with the annual gifts of other
ME News Spring 2013
2
Department News
alumni and friends, all add up to make a big difference
in providing our students with a premiere engineering
educational experience.
I will hope to see many of you yet in 2013 and wish you
all the best,
Accolades and Awards
Assistant Professor Rusan Yang was
selected for the 2013 - 2015 class of
McKnight Land-Grant Professors.
Sincerely,
Assistant Professor Wojciech Lipiński
has been elected Vice Chair of the K6
Heat Transfer in Energy Systems Technical Committee of the ASME Heat
Transfer Division.
Uwe Kortshagen
Distinguished McKnight University Professor
and Head of Mechanical Engineering
PS – Please take a moment to note the upcoming
Department events on page 15 of this issue. For future
updates on upcoming ME-AN gatherings, go to www.
me.umn.edu/alumni.
Lipiński received the 2013 Elsevier /
JQSRT Raymond Viskanta Award in Radiative Transfer
at the 7th International Symposium on Radiative Transfer in Kusadasi,Turkey, in June 2013.
Professor Tianhong Cui and colleagues from Tsinghua University in
Beijing, received a Best Paper Award
2013 from Sensors. “Humidity Sensitivity of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Networks Deposited by Dielectrophoresis” won 4th prize in the Articles
category.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences has
awarded the Einstein Professorship
to Professor David Pui. The award
goes to internationally recognized distinguished scientists working at the
frontiers of science and technology. As
part of the award, Professor Pui spent
several weeks in China lecturing at the University of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, the Institute of
Earth Environment in Xi’an, and the National Center
for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing.
Regents Professor Richard
Goldstein will be honored this summer with a Symposium during the
ASME 2013 Heat Transfer Conference to be held in Minneapolis, July
14 -19.
ME News Spring 2013
3
Department News
New Faculty Members Focus on Fluids Research for Applications in
Renewable Energy
Assistant Professor Jiarong Hong arrived in the fall of
2012 with a joint appointment in Mechanical Engineering and the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. Hong grew
up in southwestern China, in a city called Chongqing,
one of the most populous cities in the world at 32.8 million people that stretches across the Yangtze and Jialing
Rivers among the mountains upstream from the Three
Gorges Dam. On his first visit to Minnesota, Hong noted the parallel - that Minneapolis is also situated on the
upper reaches of a major river, the Mississippi. He liked
that connection.
Hong developed an early interest in engineering from
his father. Although his father worked as a Chinese language teacher, he was a hands-on engineer: “He could fix
anything, a refrigerator or the TV,” said Hong. “When I
was ten years old and interested in astronomy he helped
me build my own telescope.” Other interests included
nature, science, and mathematics.
His interest in scientific discovery with an engineering
perspective led him to study at the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, Anhui, China, where
he pursued studies in thermal physics. With this sound
foundation he was accepted as a graduate student at
Johns Hopkins University where he worked with Professor Joseph Katz, a renowned experimentalist in fluid
mechanics. This was challenging at first, as Hong had
approached science from a theoretical perspective. Yet,
he discovered, “lots of things have uncertainties, and in
experiments you see exactly what happens, and you have
the privilege to demolish an existing theory. That is the
exciting part of doing experiments – you discover what
is truly there.”
While at Johns Hopkins, Hong worked on an experimental technique for measuring complex flows called
particle image velocimetry (PIV). To apply this technique, the flow field is seeded with particle tracers and a
light sheet is generated to illuminate the particles in the
field.
A camera, oriented perpendicular to the light, is used to
capture the motions of lightened tracers, which are used
to calculate fluid motions in this region. With high-
speed cameras, this technique allows quantifying the
dynamics of fluids in the entire imaging region at high
spatial and time resolutions, providing opportunities to
characterize coherent structures in the flow field, such
as vortices of different scales. “What we have done in
the lab is to push this technique to the cutting edge,” he
said.
With a background in experimental fluid mechanics,
the joint position with the
Saint Anthony
Falls Laboratory and
Mechanical
Engineering
offers unique
opportunities
for Hong’s
research. At
the EOLOS
Wind Energy
Research Station at UMore
Park in Rosemount, Minnesota, Hong
uses PIV to
study flows
Assistant Professor Jiarong Hong
around a 2.5
MW full-scale wind turbine. Most of the previous wind
energy research using PIV were performed in laboratory wind tunnels using miniature wind turbines with a
maximum field of view of less than 3 m × 3 m. But with
the size of modern wind turbines approaching heights of
100 meters and their interaction with wind significantly
different from that of the small-scale turbine models,
there is a pressing need for characterizing wind turbine
performance at full-scale flow conditions. The UMore
facility has provided a laboratory at this scale. Hong and
his team - two graduate students, two undergraduate
students and another faculty member, have been conducting experiments on site.
ME News Spring 2013
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“There are many challenges to implementing PIV at this
large scale,” said Hong. First, a strong light source is
needed to provide uniform illumination in a flow field
at scales larger than 50 m × 50 m. Second, the particles
served as flow tracers must be environmentally friendly
– you don’t want to introduce any hazard or pollutant.
You also need to supply an abundance of seeding particles persistently, and using any artificial particle injection device would disturb the original flow field. So they
realized they could use the power of nature itself to provide the particles – snow. Luckily, Minnesota has had no
shortage of that substance. It is entirely environmentally
friendly with no additional cost. However, conducting
research at night in a Minnesota snowstorm is no one’s
idea of an easy task.
Over the winter they kept improving their instruments,
learning how to generate a uniform light sheet, and improving the alignment of the light sheet with wind direction and imaging devices (not easy at this large scale).
Though he admits their techniques were primitive – it
worked! “We were lucky, every time we went out there
all systems worked fine, and we have acquired some very
exciting data,” said Hong.
In 2011, the state of Minnesota ranked 4th in the nation
in terms of wind energy percentage of total energy generation (wind energy was 12.7% of total electricity generated). However, significant renewable energy growth is
required if Minnesota is going to achieve its stated goal
of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2025.
Professor Hong’s research has the potential to improve
the efficiency and longevity of wind power generation
through optimization of the structural design and layout
of wind turbines.
Professor Hong’s research also involves flow diagnostics
at the opposite end of the scale - the sub millimeter
scale. By using a 3-D holographic and optical refractive
index matching technique, he is studying the behavior
of flows at close proximity of solid boundaries, such as
those on a shark’s skin. When viewed under a microscope (see photo on right) the shark’s skin has these very
complex, geometrical, denticle structures. Because of
their tiny size, it is extremely difficult to characterize the
flow around them.
A well-known hypothesis of the physiological function
of these structures is that they can reduce drag. But reME News Spring 2013
5
cent studies showed that adding similar structures onto
rigid surfaces does not favor this hypothesis. In fact, as
Hong points out, shark skin is not really rigid – as the
body continually undulates as it cruises in the ocean.
Another hypothesis is that the denticles inhibit bacteria
colonization (anti-fouling) on the shark’s skin. In the
ocean, micro-algae can quickly form a film on solid
surfaces, allowing further aggregation of barnacles. This
fouling process greatly increases the hull roughness and
hydrodynamic drag on vessels, which can result in powering penalties up to 86% at cruising speed for ocean
ships.
“By being able to measure the flows around a piece of
shark skin, we can analyze whether and how these structures contribute to the hyperdynamic performance on
surfaces,” said Hong. “So this research at this tiny scale is
also related to energy,” he added.
Aside from his research and teaching responsibilities,
Professor Hong enjoys sports, especially soccer, badminton, and tennis, although his professorial duties
leave little time to for him to pursue them. He finds the
Twin Cities a great combination of natural beauty with
all the amenities of city life. He has found very good
Sichuan food (“probably the best Sichuan restaurants in
the country”) conveniently located near his home in St.
Paul. He did mention one drawback – “it is a little bit
cold,” but for a researcher who relies on snow, he is in
the right place.
Photograph courtesy of George Lauders Laboratory at
Harvard University
Department News
Associate Professor Lian Shen arrived this past fall
from Johns Hopkins University. Born in Zhejian Province, south of Shanghai, Shen received his B.S. degree
from the University of Science and Technology of China
in 1993. He attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, attaining his Sc.D. in Fluid
Mechanics in 2001. In 2004 he joined the faculty of the
Johns Hopkins University as assistant professor in the
Department of Civil Engineering and Center for Environmental and Applied Fluid Mechanics.
As a young boy Shen was not overly studious, preferring
games and sports. His father was a teacher of Chinese
and Western literature, and his mother was a physician.
No one in his family had an engineering background.
But as he grew older a strong curiosity to understand
how things work mechanically, and especially with regard to how forces make things move – led him to study
mechanical engineering and mechanics.
Currently Shen studies
fluid mechanics using
computer simulations.
He studies flows in the
context of the natural environment, in the ocean or
the atmosphere. Even with
large, supercomputers,
with thousands of CPUs, a
typical simulation can take
several weeks to run. So
Shen uses lots of computer
power, supplied by the
Department of Defense at
their supercomputer centers nationwide.
performing some leading edge research sponsored by the
National Science Foundation.
Another topic of Shen’s research is studying the fundamental mechanisms of multiphase flows at the boundary
layer. This work involves applications with heat and mass
transfer, “so I am very glad I came to this department,
because it is very strong in this area,” said Shen. He is
looking at the transfer of greenhouse gasses between the
atmosphere and the ocean. “The ocean can absorb CO2,
but how much and how fast is controlled by a very thin
boundary layer at the air and water interface,” he explained.
He is also looking at another renewable energy resource
– ocean waves. Trying to find out how the energy of
waves could drive some mechanical system to produce
energy. Shen is currently recruiting students to work in
his group, “I want to have a big research group,” he said.
Though much of his work
is with simulations, he is
also interested in doing experiments. With his joint
appointment with the St.
Anthony Falls Laboratory,
he is looking forward to
doing multidisciplinary
research and experiments
at this unique research
facility.
Shen’s interest in fluids
goes beyond engineering
science – he loves water –
“seeing water makes me
feel good, and there are so
Assoc.Professor Lian Shen near the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory
many lakes here, so many
on the Mississippi River where he conducts some of his research.
places to catch fish!” he
One of his projects is reexclaimed. “I have come
searching offshore wind
to the right place.” Having lived in New England for
energy harvesting. Typical land based wind farms have
several years, Shen is not perturbed by our Minnesota
limitations, like the availability of land, the noise crewinters, “I know there are lots of activities available and
ated, and their visual impact on the landscape. Moving
I am looking forward to them, and actually, I am quite
wind turbines to offshore environments (into the deep
experienced in digging my car out of snow,” he added.
ocean) have several advantages - they would not be
visible from shore, the wind out on the ocean is even
stronger, and the areas to place the turbines are vast.
Shen admits this idea is years from being practical, with
many engineering and structural challenges, but he is
ME News Spring 2013
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Medical Devices Center (MDC)
Moves into New Home
DMD 2013, Reaches Close to 1,000
Attendees
In April 2013, the Medical Devices Center moved to its
new 8,000 square foot space located in the heart of the
Medical School in the Mayo Building on the East Bank
Campus. The MDC aims to strengthen interdisciplinary
research among faculty in the health sciences and engineering specifically related to medical devices. The center
will help train the next generation of inventors and foster new relationships with successful Twin Cities medical
device industry and various government agencies in an
effort to improve health care worldwide.
The Design of Medical Devices Conference - 2013 had
another successful year as nearly 1,000 attendees went to
workshops, attended lectures, toured facilities, met with
industry sponsors, and raised $106,000 from 34
sponsors. The money raised will support medical devices
education at the University, and also covers conference
expenses.
The conference is held each April and brings the leading
researchers, practitioners, clinicians, and engineers together for the benefit of the medical device industry and
all of us who will undoubtedly benefit from a device or
treatment in our lifetimes.
Highlights from this year’s conference included a minimally invasive robotic surgical procedure which was
transmitted to the conference with commentary by Dr.
J. Kyle Anderson, Department of Urology.
This years Conference Award went to Randy Schiestl,
VP of Research and Development, Boston Scientific.
Dates for next years conference are April 7-10, 2014.
Info at www.dmd.umn.edu.
Virtual prototyping machine. Photo courtesy of Medical Devices Center.
The Innovative Fellows Program, a part of MDC since
2008, is a full immersion educational and product development program for medical device creation. The
Center provides a unique environment with extensive
prototyping equipment, support staff and interface with
the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.
Fellows are engaged in product development which includes FDA requirements, insurance reimbursement,
intellectual property and business strategies in addition
to creativity techniques and prototyping.
The Innovative fellows have been very successful, generating 104 invention disclosures since 2008, 52 of which
came from the 2012 class alone!
For more information, please visit the website:
www.mdc.umn.edu.
ME News Spring 2013
7
Professor and Conference Chair, Art Erdman presents the conference
award to Randy Schiestl.
Department News
A Symposium on
Plasma Science and
Technology - in honor
of Professor Joachim
Heberlein - was held
March 8, 2013.
From Europe, Australia, Asia, Canada and
the U.S., they came to honor a beloved
colleague.
ME News Spring 2013
8
P
rofessor Joachim Heberlein retired fall semester after twenty-three years of service to the University. In his
honor, the High Temperature and Plasma Laboratory hosted a symposium on plasma science and technology
on March 8, 2013. Over 100 colleagues, students, and researchers - from higher education and industry,
former graduate students, and family - from throughout the world, attended. Twenty-seven presentations filled the
day with reminiscences and science. The event culminated with an evening reception, dinner and program at the
McNamara Alumni Center. A highlight of the evening was a performance by Yuko and Andrea Heberlein,
Heberlein’s wife and daughter, who played duets on violin and piano.
Photos this page clockwise from top left:
Yuko and Andrea performing, Professor and
Department Head, Uwe
Kortshagen with retirement plaque, Joachim
Heberlein, Marcus Heberlein (son), and Professor Steven Girshick.
ME News Spring 2013
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Thanks to all our
Alumni Spotlight:
A Note from Jack Evert
I was raised in a lower, middle class family in St. Paul.
My father was a laborer, and I had little reason to think
that I would ever have more….except that I did. I
wanted to be an engineer from the earliest days that I
can remember thinking about it. And I knew that it was
all available to me; a solid underpinning education from
the public schools followed by a degree from the University of Minnesota.
I never worried about the cost of an engineering degree
because the tuition (generously supported by the State)
was well within my reach with the normal jobs a kid
could get. I remember that my first fee statement in the
fall of 1960 was $93.45!
So I graduated in 1964 with two degrees in Mechanical Engineering, accepted an offer from 3M and stayed
there my entire, wonderful career. I accomplished things
I never dreamt possible. I saw things I never thought
I would see. I lived a life beyond what I ever expected.
And all this possible because of the great education I received from the University.
As I reached retirement I began to reflect on the good
life that I had experienced and how my education had
enabled so much of it. In discussing this with my wife,
Sally, we decided that we would like to share some of
our success to the purpose of helping aspiring students
receive the wonderful education I enjoyed. With the
much higher cost of tuition now existing, we felt it even
more important to help out.
And so was born our
scholarship, the John
and Sally Evert Scholarship Fund. We are
pleased to be able
to do this and hope
it will assist many
students reach their
dreams in the years to
come.
Jack Evert (ME 1962, 64)
This list reflects contributions to the department since
July 1, 2012. ** denotes two years of consecutive giving,
*** denotes three years of consecutive giving, and ◊ denotes four or more years of consecutive giving. We have
made every effort to be as accurate as possible and apologize if we have made any errors. Please notify
Jennifer Clarke, 612-626-9354, or email: jclarke@cse.
umn.edu, for corrections.
David E. Aakre
Hans Aichlmayr**
Kenneth J. & Janet E. Albrecht
Charles A. & Marilynn R. Amann◊
Rolf D. Anderson◊
Joel A. Anderson
Harold L. & Carol E. Anderson
Dwight D. Anderson◊
Peggy J. Anderson
Gregory J. & Kimberly A. Anderson◊
David L. & Jane M. Anderson
Truman A. Anderson◊
Bradley A. Anderson◊
Julie K. Anderson**
Naseem A. Ansari***
Mark A. Anton
John T. Appelen◊
Jane H. & Richard A. Arrett◊
Fred B. Atwood
Ronald L. Bardell**
Nicholas J. Barsic & Nancy Farhrendorff
Barsic**
Christopher S. Bassett
Robert N. Bateson◊
Kirby J. Baumgard◊
Richard B. Baxter◊
Russell L. Beebe◊
John L. Benson◊
Glenn R. Bergum**
Claude L. Berman**
John M. Berner◊
Richard C. Bielke◊
Thomas C. Bischoff◊
Roger O. & Joyce V. Bjerk◊
William N. & Joanne L. Blatt◊
Lawrence J. & Janice A. Blattner◊
Jack O. Bly◊
Peter R. Boriin◊
Roy R. Brannon◊
Timothy D. Bridgman◊
John E. Brockmann
Gregory R. Bromenshenkel◊
Peter F. Brown◊
Joanne & Michael L. Brown
Myrna W. Brudvig
James L. Brudvig
Richard A. Budde◊
Paul L. Buelow◊
James E. & Erma L. Cabak**
John E. Canfield***
Thomas F. Canfield***
Christopher P. Carlson◊
Stephen Cermak◊
Kristi M. Cetti◊
Yung-Shan Chang***
Thomas G. Chapin◊
Thomas R. Chase
Donald R. Check◊
Andrew D. Chelsa
Dean B. Chenoweth
Sze-Foo Chien◊
Dennis L. Christ
Ronald L. & Janet A. Christenson◊
Richard W. Clarke◊
Morgan H. Clarity◊
John M. Clemens◊
Charles C. Clendenen◊
Edward N. Colburn
Michael R. Comstock
Donald J. Conlin◊
Michael R. Connly & Nancy Wagner
William D. & Katherine Copenhagen◊
Richard G. Cornelius◊
Harry E. Cotrill◊
Richard T. Cox◊
Donald H. & Sandra L. Craighead◊
Gerald D. Cran◊
Peter K. Crawford◊
Nihat & Jeanne W. Cur◊
John A. Dahlseng◊
Barton E. Dahneke◊
Eugene R. Danneman◊
Ralph Davis◊
Michael R. De Namur***
Gloria K. & James B. Delano**
David A. Depuydt
Cynthia M. Dewes◊
Duane F. Dipprey◊
Richard B. Diver◊
Forrest D. Dohlin◊
Janis M. Dorman
Joshua L. Dudney**
William K. Durfee◊
Rahul Dutta
Roy R. Earl◊
Michael B. Eckhardt & Mary P. Blowers◊
Carl H. Eckstrom**
Roger Eichhorn◊
Randall M. Ellis
Thomas R. & Sharon A. Engels
David R. Engh◊
John M. Engstrom◊
Roger E. Erickson & Kathleen R. Westover◊
Mark E. Erickson
Leonard T. Erickson◊
Vernon L. & Elizabeth L. Eriksen◊
Robert G. Ertel**
Marvin E. Eshelman**
Timothy J. Fernholz
David J. Fetzner◊
Marlin P. Filipek
Leroy M. Fingerson
David P. & Beverly M. Fleming◊
Kenneth E. Floren◊
George W. Frey***
Barbara Gacek◊
Bernard W. & Norma B. Gaffron◊
George F. Gardner**
Satya P. Garg***
Gary W. & Grace E. Gauer◊
John W. Gausman◊
Randy C. Gee◊
Gershon L. Gendler**
Richard D. Gerberding◊
Le Roy E. Gerlach◊
Cheryl A. Gerstler***
Richard I. & Cathleen Giertsen◊
Raymond C. & Lanae C. Giese◊
Isaac M. Giesen◊
Thomas K. Gifford
Dennis E. Gilberts◊
Floyd C. Gilman**
Steven L. Girshick
Richard A. Goerger◊
Richard J. Goldstein◊
Nathan Goodfriend◊
David M. Goodwyne◊
Robert G. Grady
David R. Grandall***
Donald C. & Germaine E. Grant◊
David J. Gravel◊
Frederick M. Green**
Kenneth O. Griep◊
Richard F. Griffith
Beth B. & Gerald C. Groff◊
Dan A. Grohnke◊
Nicholas G. Gryskiewicz**
Gary B. Gustafson◊
Raymond I. Hakomaki◊
Ken W. Hallberg**
Larry D. Halsne◊
William P. & Ann M. Hamann
Patrick M. Hamilton◊
Paul L. Hammel◊
Gregory T. Handzel◊
Julius A. Hanna
Henry A. & Barbara E. Hanson◊
Ralph W. Hanson◊
Thomas E. & Patricia M. Haskett◊
William R. Hathaway◊
Scott D. Haugan**
James O. Hedeen
ME News Spring 2013
10
generous donors!
George D. Hedges**
Bruce P. Hedlund◊
John W. Heer & Jody A. Copp◊
Harwood A. Hegna◊
Richard L. Heinecke
Adam J. Heinzen***
Stefan D. Helgeson
John M. Helgeson◊
John R. Helland◊
Duane A. Helleloid**
Joseph L. Hendricks◊
Richard D. Hermans◊
Jerry D. Hinderman
James C. Hogan***
Eugene M. Hoganson◊
Gregg A. Hohenstein
Roy F. Holm◊
Jennifer E. Holte◊
Kun-Chen Hsu◊
Panyin A. Hughes◊
John L. Ibele◊
Warren E. & Mary E. Ibele◊
Paul A. Ice◊
Carleton E. Jennrich◊
Jack D. Johnson◊
Bradley A. Johnson◊
Timothy L. Johnson◊
Bruce K. Johnson◊
Paul A. & Betty Johnson
David A. Johnson**
Sharon A. & Fredrik A. Johnson◊
Gerald W. Johnson◊
Bruce V. Johnson◊
Kent D. Johnson◊
Nancy G. Johnson
Scott D. Johnston◊
Veikko J. Jokela◊
David J. Jungkunz
Rosemary T. Jungkunz**
Swatantra K. Kachhal◊
Alan D. Kamrath**
Ramdev Kanapady
Ryan J. Kari◊
Bruce A. Karjala
Brett W. Karnowski◊
Varsha K. & Kanchan M. Kelkar***
Mark S. Kelley***
Timothy L. Kiel◊
Robert A. Kierlin & Mary B. Burrichter
Ki Chull Kim
Wayne S. Kivela**
James W. Klein
Earl O. Knutson◊
Jonathan A. Knutson◊
John M. Koepcke
Barbara L. & Steven E. Kokotovich***
Uday P. Korde◊
Uwe R. & Dagmar Kortshagen◊
Steven W. Kraft
Daniel J. Kraus◊
Mark C. Kraus
Dennis K. & Susan Kreid◊
R W. Kreutter**
Keith N. Krier◊
Robert L. Kuhn◊
Carl A. Kuhrmeyer
Arnis L. Kurmis◊
William J. Kurzeka◊
Theodore M. Kussow◊
Joel D. Kuyper◊
Arvie A. & Karen Lake
Patrick H. Lamey**
Sara M. Langren◊
Christopher R. Larson◊
Clifford W. Larson
Robert E. Larson
Elaine S. Larson
Eino K. Latvala◊
Wynn C. & Dzung Lau◊
William G. Laveen◊
Robert Leaf◊
Michael R. LeClaire◊
Yung-Cheng Lee◊
Peter J. & Janis W. Lee**
Jeffrey M. Lehn◊
Pingyan Lei**
John S. Lengyel◊
Daniel P. Lerick◊
John W. Lester◊
Gordon C. Lewis◊
Paul F. Lilienthal◊
Zhi-Kui Ling
Duaine L. Linton◊
Richard A. Lippert◊
Benjamin Y. & Helen C. Liu***
Jun Liu
Charles S. & Maryanne Lo◊
ME News Spring 2013
11
Paul E. Loftness◊
Dana R. Lonn◊
Jeffrey J. Louwagie◊
Jeffrey W. Lundbeck◊
John M. Lutz**
Clarence A. Lysdale◊
John A. Magnuson◊
Douglas N. Malm
Jerome A. Malmquist◊
Susan C. Mantell◊
Daniel E. Martin◊
Glenn T. Mason◊
George B. Mattson***
Ronald F. & Mary E. Mattson◊
Stuart T. Mc Comas◊
Vincent O. Mc Conville
Michael J. Mc Donald◊
Thomas J. & Diane M. Mc Evoy◊
Stuart G. Mc Kneight◊
John G. Mc Millan◊
Robert S. McClocklin & Susan D. Mc Clocklin
John M. McCormick◊
Mark McCoy**
Patricia B. McDonald**
Andrew R. & Nancy I. McFarland◊
Kevin Mclennan
Peter H. McMurry
Jerry D. McNally◊
Thomas G. Meier◊
David M. & Cyndi K. Meier
Dennis E. Meisner◊
Wesley W. Melander◊
Robert R. Melcher◊
Timothy L. Mellesmoen◊
Kenneth M. & Bridget A. Merdan◊
Terrence R. Meyer◊
Roger E. Miller**
John R. Mlinar◊
Kristen E. Mock◊
Robert D. Mohrbacher◊
Willard L. Moline◊
Victor C. Moose◊
Joseph Moses◊
Patrick J. Moynihan◊
Craig R. Mueller◊
Aaron J. Munsinger
Marshall S. Nathanson
Pat Nelsen
Patrick T. Nelsen
Richard K. & Barbara L. Nelson◊
Floyd L. Nelson◊
Tyler L. Nelson◊
Judith A. Nelson Lewis & Raymond M. Lewis◊
Darrick L. Niccum◊
Stanley B. Nickells◊
Lori J. & Thomas E. Nigon***
John A. Noer
Meribeth Nordloef-Pedersen & Matthew G.
Pedersen
Roger L. Norquist◊
Gregory J. Novak◊
Dale A. Nugent◊
Russell S. & Marjorie L. Nyquist◊
Kenneth T. Oas◊
Robert S. & Carrie M. Ogren◊
Kenneth E. Oja**
John C. Okada◊
John H. Olson◊
John L. Olson◊
Jaymes C. Olson◊
Charles D. Olson◊
James E. & Patricia J. Oslund◊
J H. Owens◊
Arthur J. Paulson
David C. Paulson◊
Timothy M. Paulus◊
James W. Pearson◊
Richard W. Pearson**
David J. & Mary Jo Pennington◊
James C. Perso◊
James S. Peterson◊
Craig F. Peterson◊
Donn N. Peterson◊
David J. Peterson◊
Mark D. Pfeifer◊
Emil & Maria K. Pfender
Timothy B. Phillips◊
William H. Phillips
Peter F. & Gene Pierce
James P. Pilger◊
Peter A. Potvin
Mary Jane M. Poynter
Kenneth J. Pucel & Amy J. Schreiner Pucel
Charles K. Radhamohan
James V. & Mary V. Radomski
David D. Radtke◊
John E. Raetz◊
Brian D. Raivo◊
Gregory J. Rajala
James W. Ramsey◊
Jalal S. Rana
Michael L. Rancour◊
Rodney B. Rask◊
Robert M. Reinstrom◊
James R. Reisdorfer◊
Richard J. Remiarz◊
Jed M. Retherford◊
Andrew J. Reuter
Michelle L. Robbin◊
Mary Jo C. & Walter G. Roberts◊
Randolph P. & Christine Roen◊
Lauren D. Roesner
James P. Rohl◊
Gregory A. Rolfson◊
John P. Roll◊
Henry F. Romer◊
James W. Ronkainen◊
David W. & Joan M. Rosen◊
William F. Rottschaefer◊
Mohammad A. Rouf◊
Norman E. Rud
Mark K. Ruether
Richard A. Ruh◊
Roberto Ruiz◊
Robert A. Rustin◊
Mark J. Ruter
James L. Rutzick**
Michael M. Sandahl
Sue E. Sandbulte
Christopher J. Sande
Robin E. & Barbara Schaller**
Maris Schefers◊
Scott S. Scheurich◊
Roger N. Schmidt**
Mark A. Schmidt
Roger R. Schmidt◊
Kurt S. Schnapp**
Mark E. & Pamela D. Schneider**
Christina M. Schober◊
Erick O. Schonstedt
Ryan D. Schuldt◊
Leland D. Schultz◊
William K. Schwartau
Carl E. Schwarz◊
Edward L. Schwarz
Thomas W. Secord***
Clayton P. Sederberg
Dolores D. Seidel◊
Gilmore J. Sem◊
Steven J. Seme
Gary L. Showalter
Molly V. & Scott R. Silas
Sara N. Simma
Nancy J. & Terrence W. Simon**
Eric M. Sims
Christopher Singh
Donald R. Sjostrom◊
John G. Smith◊
Steven J. Snell**
Keri B. Sobolik**
Dave E. Soenen**
Jonathan R. Soiseth◊
Russell G. Solheim◊
Gino Sovran◊
Ephraim M. Sparrow◊
Donald D. Sporre◊
Timothy A. St. Cyr
Alexander U. Staelvonholstein**
Nicholas J. Stanley***
Richard L. Steblay
Eivind & Kathleen M. Stenersen◊
Roger A. Stephanson◊
John F. Stewart
Bradley G. Stewart◊
Carl W. Stiewe
Trupti N. & Erik J. Storlie
Peter C. Stryker***
Albert J. Sturm**
Wei-Ching Sun◊
Ningze Sun
Robert E. Sundell◊
Nathan J. Sunquist◊
George M. & Kathleen K. Sverdrup◊
John W. Swanson
Jon A. Swanson
Kevin J. Swanson**
Alvin E. Swanson
Roy E. Swanson◊
Peter A. Swenson & Pamela J. Jewson◊
Lian K. Tan**
Lester O. Tangen◊
Bryce & Henry W. Tenbroek◊
John D. Teppen◊
Craig D. Thompson
Carl L. Trabant◊
James R. Traeger***
Kim Ngoc T. Tran
Norman R. Tuomi
James M. Turner
Rodney D. Turnquist
Richard J. Uhlemann◊
Frederick T. Varani
Howard S. Veith◊
Stephen D. Vickerman**
David L. Vidmar
William C. Viebahn◊
Ralph J. Volino◊
Gordon O. & Elaine V. Voss◊
Brian J. Waibel◊
Edward B. Waldo◊
Albert C. Waldvogel◊
Dayton J. & Susan S. Walker◊
Kent D. & Marcia K. Wall◊
Nicholas G. Wander◊
Haiping Wang◊
William F. & Kathleen A. Wanner
Eric A. Ware◊
Dennis J. Warwick◊
Jeanne M. Watson◊
John W. Weiss & Ann Tolkinen◊
Thomas A. Wentz◊
Curtis H. Wentz◊
Stephen J. Wernersbach◊
David A. Wesley◊
Carolyn H. Westring◊
Warren M. Wiese◊
John R. Wiggins◊
Ross K. Wilcoxon◊
Eric J. Wilkowske◊
Daniel D. & Meah A. Willard◊
Mark A. Winslow◊
John C. Winters◊
Neil G. Wobschall◊
Donald F. & Sharon F. Wright
Francis J. Yager◊
Bo Yan
Yan Ye & Man-Ping Cai
Marvin J. Yeager◊
Gregory D. Yetzer◊
Robert M. Young◊
Donald M. Youngdahl**
Jingjun Zhou & Hong Zhu◊
Eric A. & Amy M. Ziegler◊
John R. Zimmerschied◊
Connecting with alumni can be
even easier now with these QR
symbols. Just scan the image
into your phone to be connected to the ME alumni pages of
our website, or to the ME-AN
LinkedIn Group:
Student News
Vincent
Wheeler, ME
graduate student, has won
a Fulbright
grant to study
at the Norges
teknisk-naturvitenskapelige
universitet
(NTNU). It is
the technological university
in Norway located in the city of Trondheim. Wheeler
and his wife leave in August and will be there for ten
months. While there, he will be working with two professors (one in Physics and one in Energy and Processes
Engineering) on various aspects of modeling and simulations of small-scale thermal systems using kinetic theory.
Daniel Boman, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, has been named a 2013 Barry M. Goldwater
Scholar. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in his major field
and a career in research and development in the energy sector. Currently, he is conducting research with
Mechanical Engineering Professor Jane Davidson on
a model of the reaction kinetics of the production of
carbon monoxide and hydrogen over reduced cerium
oxide, a technology that will be utilized in a new solar
thermochemical reactor that Davidson’s laboratory is
developing.
In his spare time, Boman enjoys ballroom dancing. He
holds a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship,
a Gold Scholar Award and a Frank Louk Scholarship
from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Tony Nelson, a mechanical
engineering junior, received
the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship for the
second year in a row in Des
Moines, Iowa in March. Nelson became the fifth two-time
Gophers national champ, and
is thinking ahead to No. 3.
“It’s been my goal to be the
first three-time champion at
Minnesota,” Nelson said.
Mechanical Engineering graduate students, Srinidhi
Murali and Rishabh Srivastava represented the University in table tennis at the national level. They qualified among the top 64 single players in the country. The
University’s women’s team finished 8th in the country.
The Best TA Award went to John Dixon. Both faculty
and students were very enthusiastic about John’s commitment and abilities to help students. He is joining the
University of South Florida as an Assistant Professor, as
soon as he completes his Ph.D. degree. Congratulations
John!
Undergraduate Studies Director Tom Chase and Associate
Department Head Sue Mantell present award to John Dixon.
Summer Short Courses
Aerosol and Particle Measurement Short Courses August 19-21, 2013
Capitalize on courses designed to meet the growing
demand for professionals with training in aerosol instrumentation, diesel and engine emissions, and air and gas
filtration. Attend these multi-day courses and receive
CEUs for lectures given by world-renowned experts and
benefit from hands-on lab experiences. Information and
registration at www.cce.umn.edu/aerosol.
ME News Spring 2013
12
Celebrating a 100-year Relationship:
Chinese Students at the U of M
In 1914, the first three Chinese students came to study
at the University of Minnesota. In the following years,
word of mouth brought more and more Chinese students and scholars to the University. These first students
came to study in the agricultural college, since at that
time roughly 80% of the Chinese population was living and working on farms. Most students stayed for two
years and then went back to China, but a bridge had
been established between these early students and the
University.
Yong Qiu Jiang arrived at the U of M in 1947 as a
graduate student in civil and structural engineering and
earned both Masters and Ph.D. degrees. Jiang, now 93,
has been an enthusiastic supporter of his Alma mater - as
a structural engineer who wrote a dissertation on suspension bridges, it is a fitting role for him.
Jiang was born in 1920, the eldest of four children, in
a town near Shanghai. His father was a businessman in
the silk industry and his mother was a homemaker. His
father died when he was only nine years old, but his
mother was determined to get her children educated.
Early on, Jiang was interested in mathematics, physics,
and English, which he had started learning in primary
school. They moved 1,500 miles into the interior when
the Japanese began the bombing of Shanghai during
World War II. He began his studies in aeronautical engineering, but changed his major so that he could come to
Minnesota to study, which he did in 1947.
After graduating from the U of M, Jiang returned to
China in 1950 to get married and he remained in China
for the next 47 years. He was offered and accepted a
position as a full professor of the Hydraulic Engineering
Department of Northwestern Agricultural College in
Yanlin, Shaanxi Province, which he held from 1951 to
1957. From 1957 to 1997, he was a full professor of the
Department of Engineering Mechanics at the prestigious
Xi’an Jiaotong University, as well as the Chair of that
Department from 1957 to 1983. Jiang retired in 1997
and immigrated to Minnesota. Jiang was appointed
as a Visiting Professor in the University of Minnesota’s
Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1997 to
1998.
ME News Spring 2013
13
Things were very different
when Jiang returned to
Minnesota in 1997. Jiang
remembered that when he
first came to the U of M
in 1947, he joined about
20 other Chinese students
in Civil Engineering.
Yong Qui Jiang and Tao (Emily) Qu
He studied with Joseph
Wise and Paul Anderson.
“When I was here as a student,” he said, “there were only
about 100 Chinese students, no Chinese professors, and
just one visiting scholar. Now there are more than 100
Chinese professors – great changes!”
Many Chinese students who studied at the U of M
returned to China and went on to become leaders in
the fields of plant genetics, plant physiology, and biochemistry. Peisong Tang, who became president of the
Chinese Agricultural University, is known as the father
of Chinese agriculture; he received his undergraduate
degree from the U of M. These early international students wanted to modernize their country and they, in
turn, championed the University of Minnesota to their
students who came in increasing numbers.
Although that trend was interrupted during the Cultural
Revolution in China, it resumed after the normalization
of US-China relations in 1978. Today, 2,700 students
and scholars make up the University’s Chinese Students
and Scholars Association, estimated to be the largest
Chinese population on an American campus. “About
300 more students arrive each year,” said Tao (Emily)
Qu, the current president of the Association. The Association, incorporated in 1984, sponsors academic
lectures and hosts two major events each year, the Spring
Gala and the Mid-Autumn Festival (two major holidays
in China). It is a time when almost all Chinese travel to
their home villages to celebrate. For those in the U.S., it
can be difficult to be away, so the Association brings the
community together to see performances, like Chinese
Opera, and traditional dancing, which also gives them a
way to share their culture with American students.
Now living in St. Paul all these years later, Jiang is an
American citizen. His daughter graduated from St.
Cloud State University and his granddaughter will study
Continued page 14
Yong Qiu Jiang - Cont. from page 13
at Minnesota State University, Mankato this fall. Since
1979, Jiang has actively promoted international educational exchange, particularly between the University of
Minnesota and Xi’an Jiaotong University. He is proud
that he can say that three generations of his family have
been educated in Minnesota.
Roughly 30% of the U of M’s mechanical engineering graduate students and six of the professors are from
China. Two joined last year, Assistant Professor Jiarong
Hong, and Associate Professor Lian Shen. (See their
profiles on pages 4-6).
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Frank Dorman 1936 - 2012
Frank Dorman died December 15, 2012 at the age of
77. As a long time lab technician in the mechanical engineering department, he leaves many former students
and faculty in his debt. Although Frank never finished
an academic degree, or made a presentation at a technical society meeting, he was an enthusiastic scholar, coauthored many papers and patents, and became a legendary figure in the department.
Born in 1936 on a farm near Eagle Bend, Minnesota,
in the poorest part of the state, Dorman gravitated to
machinery, learned to repair it and helped his father
in an obsessive quest to build a perpetual motion machine. When he graduated from high school, he moved
to Minneapolis to study electrical engineering at the
university. About halfway into the program, Dorman
dropped out. He never went back to school, though he
spent most of the rest of his life at the university.
He moved into a house with Leroy “Mike” Fingerson
(ME Ph.D., 1961) and two other engineering students.
One night over dinner, Fingerson was discussing a measurement problem he had with his thesis. Dorman’s suggestions helped Fingerson rework his thesis, and then
provided the seed of an idea for Thermal Systems Inc.,
the firm the two men and three others founded in 1961,
which still makes precision measuring devices for medical and industrial customers today. He worked at the
new company’s labs on the side, helping engineers overcome obstacles on nights and weekends.
Dorman continued to work in the lab, and ultimately
collaborated with Dr. Henry Buchwald, from surgery,
and our own, Perry Blackshear, then a biochemistry grad
student, to build the first prototype of the first implantable insulin pump, what came to be known as the Infusaid pump, laying the foundations of the bioengineering
research we are known for today. “He’d always been an
inventor, even as a child,” his wife, Joan Dorman, said.
“He didn’t accept that you couldn’t do something, so he
did it.”
He was always self-deprecating, referring to himself
as a “monkey at a typewriter” or the “dummy in the
back room,” Blackshear said. But the truth is Dorman
launched the careers and fortunes of many of the people
he worked with and was a crucial reason those years were
“a wonderfully productive time” for the lab.
Dorman is survived by his wife, their son, two daughters, and one granddaughter, as well as a brother in Eagle
Bend, a sister in California, and a brother in Albion,
Iowa.
Thanks to Professor Emeritus Perry Blackshear and the
Star Tribune for contributing to this content.
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John “Jack” Barstow 1918 - 2013
John Morrill Barstow, passed away on February 12,
2013 in Edina Minnesota. He was a graduate of West
High School and the University of Minnesota, earning
a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1942. He worked
as a test engineer for Wright Aeronautical Corp. during
WWII, and later as an industrial furnace salesman for
W. G. Barstow Company.
John was a member of the Pi Kappa Sigma fraternity
and a Gold Medallion alumnus. He mentored numerous undergraduate mechanical engineering students and
was a tireless supporter of the University and College of
Science and Engineering. He is survived by his wife of
70 years, Gerry, five children and many grand and greatgrandchildren.
ME News Spring 2013
14
Alumni News
Upcoming Events:
Details of upcoming events will be posted on our
website: www.me.umn.edu/alumni
Robot Show - December 9, 2013
The Robot Show is a very popular event, held in the
McNamara Alumni Center atrium - showcasing the incredible ingenuity and creativity of first year engineering
students. Come for the fun of it!
Homecoming is September 22-28, 2013
Stay tuned for more information about Homecoming at
www.cse.umn.edu/events.
CSE - Public Lecture - October 29, 2013
James Guzy (BA Economics 1957) a respected advisor
and leader in the computing industry will speak about
the history of supercomputing.
Senior Design Show - December 5, 2013
The Senior Design Show, held each Fall and Spring
Semester in Coffman’s Great Hall, showcases the results
of student teams who worked on engineering design
projects sponsored by local companies or by a researcher
at the University. Their work is evaluated by a jury of
engineering professionals at the show.
We invite you to come to this exciting event and meet
our amazing students.
ME News Spring 2013
15
In Memoriam
John “Jack” M Barstow BME 1942
Julian V Bilski
BIE 1954
Donald W Bricher
BME 1958
Donald R Brown
BME 1961
Willard B Buck
BME 1946
Arden E Bullert
BME 1946
Donald C Burkness
BME 1948
Stephen Cermak III
BME 1982
Frank Dorman
Roger A Eckhoff
BME 1962
Charles M Eilenfeldt
BME 1950
Richard E Ekholm
BME 1950
Gerald M Goblirsch
MME 1975
George L Halder
BME 1962
Peter Hrycak
PhD 1960
Jack A Huna
BME 1949
George A Jackson
BME 1954
Evarts P Jensen
BME 1950
Gordon H Jones
BME 1946
Bernard J Jurek Jr
BME 1946
Jacob F Kiefer Jr
BME 1946
Curtis E Lundblad
BME 1940
Robert J Lunn
BME 1940
Roderick J Mc Kinley
BME 1959
Joseph H Mindrum
BME 1948
Mark G Mund
BME 1953
H G Rollin
BME 1933
George W Shaffer
BME 1943
Wayne G Shaffer
BME 1940
Scott A Stafne
BME 1995
Gerald H Syrovy
BME 1941
Harlin R Taylor
BME 1970
Robert C Uebelacker Jr BME 1971
Robert F West
BME 1948
John R Wiggins
BME 1959
February 12, 2013
March 21, 2013
April 29, 2013
November 6, 2013
December 24, 2012
February 2013
May 8, 2013
March 8, 2013
December 15, 2013
February 2, 2013
2013
May 9, 2013
March 6, 2013
January 30, 2013
March 7, 2013
February 2, 2013
November 16, 2012
December 22, 2012
January 11, 2013
January 2, 2013
January 1, 2013
May 1, 2013
May 3, 2013
January 11, 2013
April 10, 2013
October 30, 2012
April 4, 2013
February 7, 2013
October 18, 2012
February 7, 2013
2013
February 18, 2013
February 1, 2013
2013
March 5, 2013
M
E News
Mechanical Engineering
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