Newsletter Archives; Fall 1996

Ann Mescher joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor effective Fall 1996. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University in 1995. Prior to joining the UW, she was an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Dr. Mescher's professional goals in a broad sense are to discover, integrate, and transfer knowledge in the areas of thermal-fluids sciences and materials processing, with emphasis on the relation between the material properties of a manufactured product and its processing conditions. In her view, some of the most challenging problems in engineering require cross-disciplinary efforts, and a common theme in her work is to realize, show by example, and transfer to students and peers the positive benefits of research efforts which rely on periodic consultation from experts outside traditional boundaries of mechanical engineering. Her research interests include:

• Novel methods of fabricating polymer optical fibers; this involves experimental and computational studies of manufacturing polymer fiber with specified optical characteristics for short range communications applications. Future efforts will be directed towards developing polymer fiber sensors for medical and environmental applications as well as fibers which can be used for optical switching and logic.
• Concurrent thermal and deformation process design in hot forming manufacturing processes. Research interests with ALCOA (Aluminum Company of America) are to investigate quenching of metallic surfaces in hot rolling, extrusion, and forging processes that involve interaction between a coolant/lubricant and the manufactured component.
• Study of resin transfer molding processes, including analysis of the effects of various fiber mat permeabilities on the filling patterns, pressures, and defect formation in the mold cavity.

Her efforts as a faculty member are all aimed to accomplish the following research and educational objectives:

1. Improve and develop new manufacturing processes required for advanced applications, especially those using polymer materials;
2. Advance the state of knowledge on how material properties of a manufactured product are related to mass and energy transport phenomena during processing;
3. Introduce interdisciplinary design projects in consultation with industry to provide students with additional practical skills and experience; and
4. Assist students in developing leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills by facilitating cooperative learning experiences.

In addition to her current research efforts, Professor Mescher also has experience from her graduate work in the area of combustion. She carried out experimental and modeling investigations on flame structure and propagation in a non-recirculating pulverized coal flame. Experimental tracking of particle combustion history was performed by measurement of particle surface area, unburned fraction, gas concentrations, and on-line particle size distribution at successive stages of combustion. Additional work included experimental and modeling studies of flame spread under normal and elevated gravity conditions for open cylindrical cellulose geometries, as well as studies on the ignition of single coal/char particles in various pressures and oxygen concentrations to improve understanding of reaction kinetics at ignition. She maintains an active interest in the area of combustion, and recently coauthored a paper titled "Influence of Pressure on the Combustion Rate of Carbon" which was presented at the 1996 International Combustion Symposium.

Professor Mescher particularly enjoys teaching thermo-fluids courses as well as laboratory and capstone design courses. She coauthored the paper "Integration of Statistical Methods in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Courses," which was presented at the 1996 InterAmerican Conference on Engineering and Technology Education.

If you are interested in meeting and talking with Professor Mescher to learn more about her work, you can contact her by phone: (206) 616-8517, or preferably by e-mail: mescher@u.washington.edu.