STANFORD

FRIEDRICH B. PRINZ School of Engineering

Finmeccanica Professor Bldg. 530, 440 Escondido Mall

MECHANICAL Robert Bosch Chair Stanford University

E n g i n e e r i n G Department of Mechanical Engineering Stanford, CA 94305-3030

Fall 2010

Dear Mechanical Engineering Alumni and Friends,

I am writing to relate highlights of the past year in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Attracting the most promising graduate applicants and outstanding new faculty members remains
the top priority of all our department activities and planning efforts, ensuring our long-term
excellence and strong standing in the engineering and scientific communities. We are fortunate
that exceptional students and faculty want to join our department. This carries with it, however,
the challenge to find sufficient funding to support those who have said they will come here. This
fall, we are able to offer assistance to only about a quarter of the graduate students who will
matriculate in the department. In addition, as you will see below, we anticipate hiring several
new faculty members in the near future, each of whom will need departmental support in setting
up research laboratories and developing innovative teaching programs.

New Faculty Search

During this year, following an intense strategic planning exercise, we implemented a broad
junior faculty search process and identified a number of outstanding candidates whom we are
presenting to the School of Engineering and to the university for approval. The department
also engaged in a “target of opportunity” faculty search, in which we identified national and
international leaders whom we are now considering inviting to join us. Please check our
department website regularly for announcements of new junior and senior additions to our
faculty.

Five-Year External Review

Every five years, the dean of the School of Engineering requires each department to host a
visiting committee of distinguished faculty and representatives from industry to provide feedback
on the department’s vision, operations, and performance. We are grateful to the 10 members
of the external review committee who visited our department for three days in February and
provided us with useful insights. Overall, the feedback was extremely positive; the committee
made some thoughtful recommendations for improving the department’s organizational structure
and clarifying our strategic plan in order to maintain our competitive edge. We are in the process
of evaluating and implementing these recommendations.

Facilities Update
The Department of Mechanical Engineering recently celebrated the opening of the renovated
Peterson Building (Building 550), which now houses our Design Group and the Hasso Plattner
Institute of Design (aka the d.school). This remodel completely changed the interior character
of the building—blending the classic sandstone with modern glass and steel architecture. One

Phone: 650.723.4023 • Fax: 650.725.4862 • E-mail: mechair@me.stanford.edu • Web: me.stanford.edu

of its most distinctive features is a large glass garage door that leads to a dramatic two-story
atrium surrounded by an open balcony and topped by a large skylight. The d.school portion of
the building is also characterized by large open spaces with flexible furniture and moving-wall
arrangements to facilitate project-based learning. This stunning environment offers inspiration
for students and faculty engaged in creating new ideas and products. The Design Group looks
forward to expanding upon its shared heritage with the d.school and continuing to build a strong
center for design at Stanford. The next time you are on campus, please visit them.

Since my letter last year, our new Automotive Innovation Facility, which houses “Shelly,” among
other cars, is now up and running. Within the building, faculty and student research focuses on
vehicle safety, environmental improvements, and autonomous driving. This is also a wonderful
facility to see when your plans bring you here.

William C. Reynolds Memorial Seminar

This year’s speaker for the annual William C. Reynolds Memorial Seminar, named for our late
colleague and department chair, was Dr. Arun Majumdar, newly appointed as the first director
of the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). Dr. Majumdar was selected as
the Reynolds speaker prior to his government appointment and we were thrilled that he was still
able to fit us into his schedule. His inspiring talk, expressing the urgent need for academics and
entrepreneurs to focus on technological innovations in order to change the energy scene in the
United States and the world, resonated with all of us.

Faculty Awards and Honors

David W. Beach and David M. Kelley were named to Product Design & Development
magazine’s Design Engineer Hall of Fame in 2009.

Mark R. Cutkosky (with his students) received the King-Sun Fu Memorial Best Paper Award in
May 2009 for a paper on Stickybot published in IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

Scott L. Delp was appointed as the inaugural James H. Clark Professor in the School of
Engineering. He was a co-recipient of the 2009 Journal of Biomechanics Award from the
American Society of Biomechanics, and he was a 2009 Raine Visiting Professor at the University
of Western Australia.

John K. Eaton was appointed as the fourth holder of the Charles Lee Powell Foundation
Professorship in the School of Engineering.

Charbel Farhat, in April, received the Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Award
from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Kenneth E. Goodson was honored with the 2010 Allan Kraus Thermal Management Medal
from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In February, he delivered the Dusinberre
Distinguished Thermal Sciences Lecture at Pennsylvania State University.

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Ronald K. Hanson received a Humboldt Research Award for 2010 and, in August, delivered the
Hottel Lecture at the 33rd International Symposium on Combustion at Tsinghua University in
Beijing, China.

Larry J. Leifer received an honorary doctorate from Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology.

Parviz Moin was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences this year.

Fritz B. Prinz was appointed as the inaugural Finmeccanica Professor at Stanford University. In
April, he delivered the Christie Lecture at Johns Hopkins University.

Beth Pruitt, in August, received the Denice Denton Emerging Leader Award from the Anita
Borg Institute for Women and Technology.

Commencement 2010
The university honored our own Sherri Sheppard with the Walter J. Gores Award for excellence
in teaching at the Commencement ceremony held in Stanford Stadium. In June, we graduated
84 undergraduates (including mechanical engineering, product design, and biomechanical
engineering majors), 93 master’s students, and 11 doctoral students (plus 29 additional doctoral
students who “walked,” anticipating summer graduation). The diploma ceremony took place in
Maples Pavilion and was followed by a reception at Chuck Taylor Grove. The celebration of our
graduates, who were joined by supportive faculty, family, and friends, was a festive send-off for
our newest alumni, whom we expect to make great contributions to society.

This was the third year the department presented the William C. Reynolds Prize for excellence
in thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and energy sciences. It is awarded to a
graduating senior deemed by the faculty to have demonstrated the best overall performance
in these subject areas. This year’s award, including a check for $1,000, was presented to
Lewis Hom.

The department also was honored to have four Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering
Scholastic Award recipients, Terri Hoberg, Myles Lam, Chris Tsoufakis, and Kate Niehaus.
The Terman Award recognizes the top 5 percent of the graduating senior class and the teacher or
mentor each student chooses to honor for inspiring their achievement. Terri Hoberg also was
honored as a recipient of the 2010 Dean’s Award for Academic Accomplishment.

In Memoriam
Sadly, I report the loss of Professor Milton Van Dyke, a professor emeritus of mechanical
engineering and of aeronautics and astronautics. He died of complications from Parkinson’s
disease on May 10, 2010. He was 87. Professor Van Dyke joined the Stanford faculty as a full
professor in 1959 to help build the new aeronautics department and retired in 1992. During
his time at Stanford, he became well known as a teacher and author, particularly in the area
of perturbation methods in fluid mechanics. A memorial service for Professor Van Dyke was
recently held at the Stanford Faculty Club. In lieu of flowers, the family requested memorial
donations to be made to open space or environmental organizations.

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Staying Connected
Please visit our website at http://me.stanford.edu for updated information about the department.
From this site, you can link to many sources for detailed information about our faculty,
students, research programs, and teaching initiatives. I welcome your suggestions regarding
the department’s directions and activities, and extend an invitation for you to visit us to see our
facilities and programs firsthand.

I hope you will remain an active member of the department’s alumni community by keeping
us apprised of your contact information and your current activities. You can log on to
http://soe.stanford.edu/alumni/update.html to update your information. Or, if it is more
convenient, you can complete the enclosed alumni news update form and mail it in. Thank you
for keeping in touch.

With best wishes,

Fritz B. Prinz
Finmeccanica Professor
Robert Bosch Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering

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