School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering

“Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.” That’s a line from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It’s also the reality for thousands of people every year when disasters strike along coastlines and broken pipes and flooded infrastructure leave access to nothing but seawater.  This past academic year, a […]

Global Formula Racing — the partnership between Oregon State University and German university DHBW Ravensburg— has a storied and stellar track record. Since 2010, the team has racked up multiple top-10 finishes in race cars designed and built from the ground up. So when the team took second place at Formula Student Germany earlier this […]

Joseph Agor, assistant professor of industrial engineering Agor’s main research interest is in data driven optimization with applications in health care. More specifically, he is interested in using linear, integer, and multilevel optimization techniques to develop data driven decision support tools for decision makers in health care both at a system and patient level. He […]

by Kelly Fox and Peter Beck (both ’19 B.S., Mechanical Engineering) (Editor’s note: Four students traveled to Ghana in spring 2019. This is their story with minor edits for style and flow.) What brought us to Ghana: a groundnut (peanut) roaster There were four of us on our senior design project: Peter Beck, Kelly Fox, […]

OSU Overclocking provides students with real-world industry experience Seeing frost form on your computer parts would usually be cause for alarm – but not for the members of OSU Overclockers. Frost is to be expected when the key ingredient of your cooling system is liquid nitrogen. Overclocking, or pushing a computer’s processor past the manufacturer’s […]

Tim Weber (’91 Ph.D., mechanical engineering) has been spearheading innovation at HP for more than 25 years. As global head of 3D metals for HP, he focuses on bringing mass production of printed metal parts to the $12 trillion global manufacturing industry for the first time. One of HP’s early inkjet pioneers, he was part […]

Thirty-nine years ago, Ken Funk traveled from one OSU (The Ohio State University) to another (Oregon State University). He’d just graduated with a doctorate in industrial and systems engineering, and headed west to start his appointment in the (then) Department of Industrial and General Engineering. He would eventually serve as the interim head of the […]

Opposites attract, and with funding from the National Science Foundation, Nick Bira, a doctoral student in robotics, is incorporating magnets (traditionally hard and rigid) with robots that are soft and pliable.

At the heart of Oregon State University’s pursuit of excellence are faculty — scholars and educators who advance knowledge while teaching, challenging, and guiding students. These are the individuals in whom Oregon State’s mission lives and breathes. Named faculty positions bring resources and prestige to Oregon State, allowing the university to recruit and retain the […]

Burak Sencer, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was awarded the Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his paper, “Frequency Optimal Feed Motion Planning in Computer Numerical Controlled Machine Tools for Vibration Avoidance.“ The award recognizes the best original academic papers that have “resulted in a significant contribution […]

Brian K. Paul, professor of manufacturing engineering, was elected to the SME College of Fellows.   The honor recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the social, technological, and educational aspects of the manufacturing profession over 20 or more years of service. “It is great to be recognized for my contributions to the manufacturing […]

After an illustrious 30-year career at Oregon State University, R. Logen Logendran, professor of industrial engineering, is set to retire in September.

The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers has awarded Harriet B. Nembhard the title of fellow. Nembhard is the Eric R. Smith Professor of Engineering and head of the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering. The award recognizes outstanding leaders in industrial engineering who have made significant, nationally recognized contributions to the profession. “Becoming […]

In June, MIME celebrated one of the largest and most diverse graduating classes in our school’s history, with over 400 undergraduates and 125 graduate students receiving degrees (according to preliminary numbers) . They join the now 200,000 Oregon State University alumni living and working around the world. Harriet B. Nembhard, school head and Eric R. […]

By Ali Trueworthy I want to put things in the ocean that can generate electricity. In pursuit of that, I do research which works to answer the question, “How do we design things that go in the ocean and generate electricity?” This is different from, “What things can we design that go in the ocean […]

By Tabeel Jacob Have you ever heard of a “refrigerant?” It almost sounds like “refrigerator,” right? Well, if you thought they might be related, you’d be right! In fact, a wide range of our daily appliances and machinery – such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and automobiles – contain refrigerants. The refrigerants in these systems undergo […]

By Suresh Ramasamy A majority of mobile robots that operate in the world around us either use wheels or legs for locomotion. The reason for this is the inherent simplicity of operation in the case of wheels and easy access to environments of societal interests like buildings, stores, and warehouses in the case of legs. […]

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Nordica MacCarty conducts her research in the realm of humanitarian engineering. Through complex systems modeling, thermal fluid sciences, and engineering design, she seeks to understand the relationships between energy, society, and the environment. “In humanitarian engineering, we use tools to look at not only the technical aspects of a problem, […]

Kagan Tumer’s research focuses on coordinating what he refers to as large, messy, complex systems. “Think air traffic, or sending a few dozen robots to Mars,” said Tumer, a professor of robotics in the School of MIME. “How do you coordinate all of that?” One of his current research projects is figuring out how to […]

For assistant Professor Chinweike Eseonu, engineering is about people, which is why his research revolves around improving human experiences through processes improvement in healthcare, manufacturing, and new product design and development. More importantly, he strives to extend the land grant mission to engineering by transforming the traditional technology commercialization process to help improve rural economies. […]

Before becoming an assistant professor of energy systems engineering at OSU-Cascades in 2012, Chris Hagen had logged a dozen years working in industry, including four years as a lead fuels research engineer with the Chevron Energy Technology Company in Richmond, CA.His current research and teaching focuses on energy conversion (primarily combustion), novel transportation fuels, and […]

Yiğit Mengüç, assistant professor of robotics and mechanical engineering, works at the interface of mechanical science and robotics to design deformable “smart” materials for building soft-bodied devices and robots. Among his goals are to design and manufacture soft, bioinspired robots for tasks such as deep-sea exploration and to augment human capabilities in everyday life. “The […]

Onan Demirel, assistant professor of engineering, focuses his research on how to incorporate human needs, abilities, and limitations into the product design process. As the newest member of the Engineering Design Laboratory, he enables visualization of human-product interactions by creating digital representations of humans that designers can use to evaluate human well-being and overall system […]

The varied research interests of Ross Hatton, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, converge at the intersection of robotics, mechanics, and biology. His work includes the development of motion models for robotic snakes and fundamental mathematical models for the study of locomotion. Hatton looks to the natural world to find mathematical principles of animal motion and […]

Assistant Professor Joshua Gess studies the fundamental science of heat transfer and thermal management systems. Combining his knowledge of heat transfer with novel experimental methods, such as two-phase cooling using di-electric coolant and high-speed image capture, Gess, a co-principal investigator at the Enhanced Heat Transfer Laboratory, seeks to develop methods that ensure reliable and efficient […]

Burak Sencer, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, researches at the intersection of precision engineering and advanced manufacturing. He seeks to improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of manufacturing equipment such as CNC machine tools and industrial manufacturing robots, as well as the manufacturing process itself. On the process side, his work focuses on metal cutting […]

Assistant Professor Geoffrey Hollinger conducts fundamental research in the quickly growing area of robotic systems. Among the major goals of his Robotic Decision Making Laboratory is formulating more effective ways for networks of autonomous robotic systems to work together to plan and coordinate their actions and learn how to make optimal decisions during complex data-gathering […]

Edward D. McDowell sadly passed away on April 4, 2018. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Ohio State University, and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Ohio University. Following the receipt of his Ph.D. in 1974, he joined the (then) Department of Industrial and General Engineering at Oregon State University as an […]

Bahman Abbasi, Ph.D. joins Oregon State University as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Before joining Oregon State he worked as a lead technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton and a technical advisor to U.S. Department of Energy with wide-ranging experience in power generation systems, solar-thermal energy, high-temperature materials, light metals production and recycling, and water-energy […]

Assistant Professor Brian Fronk researches thermal energy systems and heat transfer in the domains of both applied and fundamental science.

Assistant Professor Javier Calvo-Amodio is an industrial engineer who specializes in engineering management.

Tapping design automation to improve consumer products, the power grid, and more

After completing her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Julie Tucker worked in industry for five years as a lead scientist, helping design nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers at a government-owned, contractor-operated power lab in Schenectady, New York.

Kyle Niemeyer, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, develops advanced numerical methods for computational modeling of combustion and reactive flows.

Assistant Professor Ravi Balasubramanian specializes in robotics and human control systems.

Students spent 30 consecutive hours of engineering design, teamwork, and development at HWeekend on October 8-9, sponsored by the College of Engineering.

Welty Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor David Blunck’s research focuses on four domains: combustion, ignition, radiation, and energy.

Dr. Joseph Piacenza, MSME 2012, PhD 2014, reports that he has joined the faculty at Cal State Fullerton. Dr Piacenza is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering & Computer Science.

Dr. Douglas L. Van Bossuyt – 2007 HBSME, HBAME (international degree program); MSME 2009; PHD ME 2012 – is entering his third year as an assistant professor at the Colorado School of Mines seated in the Mechanical Engineering Department and working with the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program and Center for Space Resources. He focuses […]

Dr. Sarah Oman, PhD ME 2012, is currently teaching Mechanical Engineering design courses at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. Oman was hired on to develop a brand new course for sophomore design practices and to supervise senior Capstone Design projects.

Dr. Hoda Mehrpouyan, PhD ME 2014, has joined the Columbus State University, Computer Science faculty as an assistant professor. At Oregon State, Mehrpouyan’s PhD advisor was Prof. Irem Tumer, and her dissertation research addressed assessment and Improvement of the resilience of complex engineered systems during the early design process.

Mark Owen was an honor student and a hall of fame athlete in gymnastics as a high schooler in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from Oregon State, he joined Tektronix as a design engineer. The Portland-based company pioneered engineering tools like computer-aided design and finite element analysis, and Owen was one of the first engineers to […]

Even after Paul McKenney’s long and illustrious career as a software engineer, he continues to benefit from the emphasis during his graduate and undergraduate coursework on solving real-world problems. “The thing about Oregon State University then and now is a strong focus on practice and practical matters,” he said. After graduating, McKenney worked as a […]

Hearing his story, Wes Snyder might just be the envy of any engineering student anywhere. It may seem as if he has lived a charmed life. But in his mind, it has been perseverance that has served him most. As a student participant in MECOP (Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program), Snyder completed a six-month internship at […]

Amber Nyssen’s biggest takeaway from her time at Oregon State was the ability to solve problems. “It sounds like a really simple thing, but being able to assess a situation, ask questions, and develop a logical path forward has served me very well in all of the roles I’ve held professionally,” she said. Through her […]

Olivia Girod, HBS IE 2014, has joined Intel Corporation as an Operations Manager managing a team of 15-25 manufacturing technicians to support operations across three fabrication facilities. As well, Girod has earned the recognition of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers – named to SME Manufacturing’s list “30 Under 30: Recognizing the Future Leaders of Manufacturing” […]

Jeff Stebel, MS IE 2005, has joined Sierra Nevada Corporation to provide risk analysis for the Dream Chaser space plane, a NASA space travel project. He is the flight test vehicle lead with a focus on electric power systems and hybrid propulsion systems. Stebel previously worked for Lockheed-Martin on NASA’s Orion contract.

Ben Rivera, BS ME 1991 has been promoted at Leatherman Tool Group to the position of president of the company’s tool-making division. Rivera has been with Leatherman for more than 20 years and played a pivotal role in the design and evolution of the company’s multi-function tools. Rivera’s appointment comes as the company enters new […]

Steve Bastion, BS IE 2005, has started a new position with Kroger as NW Regional Industrial Engineer based in Clackamas, Oregon. Steve says that he is happy to provide tours of Fred Meyer distribution centers for fellow School of MIME Industrial Engineers.

Terry Kelley (BSME 1974, MSME 1975) is currently the Business Development Manager for GeoGlobal Energy LLC, a privately-held geothermal company headquartered in Chevy Chase, MD, and focused on the worldwide development and acquisition of geothermal resources to generate base load, renewable, low-carbon electricity.

Jerry Young (BSME 1989) was recently promoted to Master-Level Senior Technologist in Hewlett Packard’s Intellectual Property Department  (Boise campus). He is also a current member of the MIME Industry Affiliates Board.

Luke Bortnem (BSIE & MfgE 2009) has worked at Boeing since 2010 after completing his second MECOP internship with the company. Bortnem has been involved on a number of projects for Boeing including working on 737 Pilot Controls, 777 Flap Supports, and 737 Flap Tracks.

Six MIME alumni were honored at the 2013 Oregon Staters banquet in February: David West (BSME 1969), Lewis Danielson (BSME 1979), Elizabeth Hammack (BSIE 1981), Paul Anderson (BSIE 1980), Nancy Adcock (BSME 2001), and Meagan Bozeman (BSME 1997).

Nans Kunz (BSME 1978) has worked at NASA since graduating from OSU. Kunz was the Chief Engineer for the development of the Stratoshperic Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Program. Currently, Kunz is the NESC Chief Engineer for NASA Ames Research Center.

David C. Jensen (BSME 2008, MSME 2009, PhD ME 2012) has joined the University of Arkansas ME faculty as an assistant professor. At OSU, Jensen’s PhD advisor was Irem Tumer, and his dissertation research addressed model-based predictions of system failure behavior and systems validation.

David Browning (BSME 1986), cofounder and chief technology officer of Altman Browning and Company, and Kay Altman(BsChE 1978) hosted an MIME “Decade Dinner” at their home in Portland this summer. Attendees included Lew Danielson(BSMET 1979), Mike Miles (BSME 1980), Mark (BSIE 1978) and Kim Childs, and Thomas (BSME 1983) and Tandra Teramura. (Photos courtesy of […]

Jacquelyn K. Nagel (PhD ME 2010), an assistant professor at James Madison University, was nominated by IEEE-USA as one of the National Engineers Week Foundation’s 2012 New Faces of Engineering. This program honors outstanding engineers under the age of 30. Nagel was recognized for her pioneering work in bio-inspired sensor, instrumentation, and energy systems design. […]

Six MIME alumni were honored at the 2012 Oregon Staters banquet in February: Katherine Hammack (BSME 1981), Andrew Hill (BSME 2000), Scott Henry III (BSME 1958, MSME 1959), Steve Smith (BSIE 1969), Leonard Weitman (BSIE 1978) and Ian Wendler (BSIE 2000).