Mechanical Engineering

Colin Sandwith

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Colin Sandwith
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Research Associate Professor Colin J. Sandwith retired on January 31, 2008, after 41 years of service to the University. He will be remembered by generations of students who took his ME 406 class, Corrosion and Surface Treatment of Materials. Over time this course has been one of the most popular ME elective courses, offered both in the classroom and off campus through EDGE, the UW distance education program. Students have con­sist­ently rated Prof. Sandwith as one of the top ME instructors.

Professor Sandwith earned his BSME from the UW in 1961 and his PhD from Oregon State University in 1966. He joined the ME faculty as an assistant professor in 1966. In 1974 he joined the UW Applied Physics Laboratory as a mechan­ical engineer, accepting a concurrent appoint­ment as research associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. At APL he specialized in marine corrosion, fail­ure analysis, corrosion mechan­isms, O-rings, and fiber-optic electromechanical cables. He is widely known within the U.S. Navy for his expertise in corrosion. As program director for the U.S. Navy Submarine and Surface Ship Corrosion and Materials Design Inspec­tion Program, Sandwith inspected over 30 submarines and surface ships, often venturing into remote reaches of these ships where man previously had not dared to go.

Upon retirement, Professor Sandwith was elected by his peers to the rank of research associate professor emeritus. Professor Sandwith’s retirement agenda includes: playing handball twice a week; developing and offering a self-defense course based on knowledgeable behavior; spending time with children, grand­child­ren, family, and friends; volunteering at service centers; improving his farm at Friday Harbor; maintaining health; keeping active at APL and ME; and playing tennis.