ame.NEWS
Faculty and Staff Full-Time Faculty
M. Cengiz Altan Peter Attar J. David Baldwin Kuang-Hua Chang Rong Zhu Gan S.R. Gollahalli Kurt Gramoll Takumi Hawa F.C. Lai Wilson E. Merchàn-Merchàn David P. Miller Farrokh Mistree Kumar Parthasarathy Mrinal C. Saha Zahed Siddique Li Song Harold L. Stalford Alfred G. Striz Prakash Vedula
Staff
Lawana Dillard Assistant to the Director Debbie Mattax Financial Associate Vicki Pollock Staff Assistant Suzi Skinner Student Services Coordinator Sarah Warren Communications Coordinator
Shop Personnel Billy Mays Greg Williams
AME News • 2
Letter From the Director Thank you for staying engaged with the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. It has been a good year marked by financial prioritizing amidst a lean budget, but also a year of achievements and new strategic partners. One thing is certain: AME is on the move! Our faculty continues to win awards, receive grants and make a difference in the lives of students. Likewise, our students have had a standout year, as well. The Board of Advisors has worked to develop AME’s already-strong research infrastructure, help us to continue working toward our Strategic Plan, and recruit new strategic partners. We have several new BoA members, including Sammy Haroon and Dave Wagie, Farrokh Mistree, Ph.D. Ph.D. Sammy is an executive specializing in innovation. Dave is the director of Director, AME aerospace and economic development for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. He is the former provost of St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee and former dean of faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy. In January, I accompanied a group of faculty from OU to Gujarat, India, where we signed a memorandum of understanding with Gujarat Technological University and Pandit Deen Dayal University. We agreed to foster relationships beneficial to all parties and to provide students and faculty with exchange opportunities. This summer we prepared for our accreditation self-study, which occurs every six years. We’ve sent in our reports and await guests from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in late October. Our reports show us to be on a course of continuous improvement. As the school faces a lean budget, needs remain. Specifically, AME is working with donors to help provide funding and resources to undergraduate and graduate students, to support faculty, to fund much-needed renovations to labs and graduate student offices, and to generously give to the Director’s Discretionary Fund so that AME can meet financial obligations as they arise. Please keep up with us either by visiting the school, attending an e-Club cookout during a home football game, following us on Facebook or sending us an email. Join us, the AME family, as we make positive contributions to Oklahoma’s economic and intellectual capital and strive to meet the goals set out in our strategic plan. Positive Thoughts,