06-14-10
Paul E. Dimotakis, John K. Northrop Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Applied Physics; and Chief Technologist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was the 2010 commencement speaker for UC Santa Cruz. In the speech Professor Dimotakis advised the graduates that "the best engineering almost always pushes the limits of science and our understanding of nature." [Full text of speech]
Tags: Paul Dimotakis
06-02-10
Ares J. Rosakis, Division Chair; Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the 2010 Brown Engineering Alumni Medal (BEAM). The medal is awarded to distinguished Brown alumni who have established exceptional records of accomplishment in their careers. Professor Rosakis received the medal at a ceremony held in the Brown Alumnae Hall accompanied by his former teacher Rodney J. Clifton, Dean of Brown University School of Engineering, L. Ben Freund, Rosakis' PhD advisor and former Chair of Brown University Division of Engineering, as well as Rosakis' classmate Wei Yang, President of Zhejiang University in China [in photo standing from left to right]. At the same ceremony it was announced that the Division of Engineering at Brown University has been elevated to the School of Engineering at Brown.
Tags: Ares Rosakis
05-18-10
Avatar Director James Cameron met with Caltech faculty and students on May 4, 2010 to discuss a variety of topics including space structure systems, interdisciplinary materials and device research, and cognitive neuroscience. All present were impressed by Mr. Cameron's level of interest and engagement. Ares Rosakis, Division Chair and Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said "if Mr. Cameron was not such an accomplished director I bet he would have made a wonderful engineer."
Tags: Ares Rosakis James Cameron
05-17-10
John O. Dabiri, Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Bioengineering, has purchased two acres of land north of Los Angeles, where he is establishing the Caltech Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE). The goal is "to extract significantly more wind energy from a given parcel of land than is currently possible... [by taking] advantage of constructive aerodynamic interference between closely spaced vertical-axis wind turbines." says Dabiri whose inspiration for this project came from observation of schooling fish. [Caltech Press Release]
Tags: John Dabiri
05-06-10
Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected to receive the 2010 Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers "for pioneering contributions to the field of fracture and failure mechanics of microelectronic, engineering and geological materials and structures, spanning a wide range of length scales; and for visionary leadership in promoting interdisciplinary research and education in mechanical engineering."
Tags: Ares Rosakis
05-04-10
Wolfgang G. Knauss, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, Emeritus, has been selected to receive the 2010 Timoshenko Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers "for fundamental contributions to the mechanics of fracture, covering mixed-mode fracture, dynamic fracture, and interface and adhesive fracture; and the characterization of material response and failure at the microscale, with an emphasis on experimental mechanics." The Timoshenko Medal was established in 1957 and is conferred in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics.
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04-22-10
Alessandro Spadoni, Postdoctoral Scholar, and Chiara Daraio, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Physics, have built a nonlinear acoustic lens that produces highly focused, high-amplitude acoustic signals dubbed "sound bullets." The combination of the acoustic lens and sound bullets have "the potential to revolutionize applications from medical imaging and therapy to the nondestructive evaluation of materials and engineering systems," says Professor Daraio. [Caltech Press Release]
04-22-10
Simon R. Sanderson, General Electric, Joseph E. Shepherd, C. L. "Kelly" Johnson Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Hans G. Hornung, C. L. "Kelly" Johnson Professor of Aeronautics, Emeritus, and colleagues' paper "Reactant Jetting in Unstable Detonation" has been selected as best paper by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee. [Read the Paper]
Tags: Hans Hornung Joseph Shepherd best paper fluid dynamics
04-09-10
Chiara Daraio, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Physics, has won the 2010 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award. The objectives of the Young Investigator Program are to attract to naval research outstanding new faculty members, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. Professor Daraio's award is for her experimental study of nonlinear acoustic lenses with dynamically controllable focus. ONR announced 17 new awards in 2010. [View full list of Recipients]
Tags: Chiara Daraio
03-26-10
Beverley McKeon, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics, shares her perspectives on controlling turbulence in the March 2010 issue of Science. Professor McKeon states, "more than 100 years after Osborne Reynolds's seminal experiments on the transition of flow through a pipe from a laminar to a turbulent state, the exact physical mechanism that drives this phenomenon still vexes the fluid mechanics community." [Science Magazine Article]
Tags: Beverley McKeon
