Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME Seminar - “Two Overviews: Research on Flexible Structure Mechanics, and Vision for Mechanical Engineering”

 

Mechanical Engineering Seminar
Thursday, February 22, 2007
11:00 – 11:50 AM
3004/06 Black Engineering


“Two Overviews:  Research on Flexible Structure Mechanics, and Vision for Mechanical Engineering”

Jonathan Wickert
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract This seminar will be broken down into two parts.  In the first half, I will present a high-level overview of my research on the mechanics of flexible structures, followed by a more in-depth look at the interesting application of friction–vibration interaction in ring dampers used for rotating machinery.  In the second half of the seminar, I will set forth some observations on the present climate of mechanical engineering education and research, and discuss the trends and challenges that are shaping our profession.

Biography Jonathan Wickert’s research in the fields of mechanical vibration and applied mechanics combines physical modeling, analytical techniques, and measurement.  Applications of his work include high-density computer data storage, the design of automotive disk brakes, machine dynamics, and the manufacture of sheet metal, fiberglass, and polymer materials.  Dr. Wickert is the author of the textbook An Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, the co-inventor of two U.S. patents, and the author or co-author of over 120 papers in archival journals and at technical conferences.  Dr. Wickert chaired Carnegie Mellon’s undergraduate mechanical engineering program during a period in which enrollment grew by nearly one third.  In that capacity, he led a group of faculty to prepare the department’s first self-study under ABET’s EC2000 accreditation criteria.  He chaired his department’s strategic planning initiative and developed faculty consensus for a five-year roadmap to improve undergraduate and graduate education, research groups, and departmental administrative operations.  With industrial sponsorship, he spearheaded the creation of new laboratories for undergraduate instruction in the areas of instrumentation and computer-aided engineering.  Dr. Wickert is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.  He has worked as an associate editor of the ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics and the Journal of Information Storage Systems. He was a member of the founding executive committee for ASME’s Information Storage and Processing Systems Division, and he served as the division’s chair, vice-chair, secretary, and program chair.

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