Newsletter Archives; Fall 1996
Department Chair Professor Ashley F. Emery
This last year the Advisory Committee met twice, with the spring meeting focusing on design. The Committee heard student presentations of projects and then toured the Learning Factory. This facility is designed specifically to introduce students to modern manufacturing processes and procedures. Our new course "Product Dissection" uses the Learning Factory to help students learn how things work and give them the opportunity to change and improve products.
As part of the increased emphasis on design, the faculty has formed a new group, Design (the others are Energy and Fluids; Mechanics, Materials, and Manufacturing; and Systems and Dynamics). The existence of this new group will help focus our efforts in manufacturing and design and the use of the Learning Factory.
We are pleased that Hewlett-Packard has awarded us two computer grants. One is for sixteen Vectra machines dedicated to the Learning Factory activities. The second grant, just received, supports our new senior option in "Mechatronics." These new capabilities are critical to our ability to give the students the best undergraduate education possible.
In this newsletter you can read about our new faculty member, Ann Mescher. The Department is pleased to have Ann with us and I encourage you to visit her. Two of our faculty, Dick Corlett and Dave Pratt, have retired. Both will continue to teach their specialties one quarter a year, Dick in the Fall Quarter and Dave in the Spring. Details of their careers will be published in the next newsletter.
This last quarter has seen the Department developing a strategic plan for both research and teaching. Part of this ongoing effort is to be always positioned to take advantage of research opportunities, but even more important is the ability to use new technology and the changing mix of faculty interests and skills to offer the best undergraduate and graduate programs possible.
This last year has seen a substantial increase in alumni support of the Department and our next newsletter will have a special section on how we use your support. It is critical to us to publicize the importance and role of mechanical engineers, so I again encourage you to give us your ideas and comments and to visit us whenever possible.
