• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the Woodruff School: While preparing this report, the tragic events of terrorism occurred on September 11th. They put a different perspective on everything we do. It is hard for me to comprehend how anyone can hate others with the vengeance shown by the terrorists. All the world suffers from such actions. Our hearts go out to all who have suffered the loss of loved ones in these tragic events. In spite of the events of September 11th, the Woodruff School had another great year. We recently learned that the ranking of our undergraduate program went up again. We are now ranked 5th in the country according to U.S. News & World Report. Ten years ago, we were ranked at best 11th, possibly 14th or lower. Academic reputations are slow to change, and we are very pleased with the recognition we are receiving for our outstanding programs. The most important event of the past year was the completion of the Georgia Tech Capital Campaign. Our goal was to raise $30 million for the Woodruff School. Through the outstanding efforts of our two development officers, Connie Parish and Caroline Wood, we exceeded that amount by nearly fifteen percent, having raised $34,605,978. There were times during the Campaign when I thought the original goal was unattainable, but the generosity of alumni and friends of the Woodruff School and the hard work on the part of many people at Tech helped us exceed that goal. These funds and the previous generosity of others, such as George Woodruff, make it possible for us to go the extra mile and do the special things that make our program truly outstanding. Thanks to everyone who participated and contributed to the Campaign for your efforts on behalf of the School. The past year was packed with other exciting activities. We were the first academic institution to be named by the ASME History and Heritage program as a mechanical engineering heritage site. This was in recognition of the role that John Saylor Coon played in the early days of mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech and his implementation of the mechanical engineering education goals of the ASME. We also hosted a highly successful exhibit on Marie Curie and women in science. The Woodruff Distinguished Lecture featured Euan Baird, CEO of Schlumberger Limited, as our first international speaker in the series. The Gegenheimer Lecture was very popular as we hosted Woodie Flowers of MIT, the "dean" of mechanical engineering design education in the United States. A team of students and a faculty leader advised a high school team in the U. S. FIRST competitions. They are mentoring two Atlanta area high school groups this academic year. GT Motorsports, which has more than ten years of experience, did very well at the national competition in Detroit. Then a team of twenty students and a faculty advisor traveled to Birmingham, England for the international motorsport competition, where they took first place! The GT Off-Road team has only two years experience in mini-baja events and is only one of only six teams to compete in all three U. S. competitions. Many mechanical engineering students are also involved in FutureTruck, which is led by a faculty member from Electrical Engineering. Student involvement in national competitions has become very popular, and it should be no surprise that Georgia Tech students do well when they enter these events. Recently, the old "Tin Building" was made available to house student competition groups, but it requires some improvement to make it a showcase for our students. If any of you have a spare two or three million dollars you would like to contribute to a naming opportunity to develop the facilities and endow the operation, please give me a call. Our spring banquet was a success. The students poked fun at the faculty and themselves, and we were honored to designate Pierce Merry (BME 1950) as our distinguished alumnus. We also hosted a successful graduate student cookout in the fall, and the student chapter of ASME held a picnic for all mechanical engineering students in the spring. We have now completed two years under the semester calendar and are currently reviewing our programs for content and continuity. The Co-op Program is still flourishing even with the calendar change. In Mechanical Engineering, nearly fifty percent of our undergraduate students participate in the Co-op Program, which is actually higher on average than it was for the last ten years under the quarter calendar. Last year, 236 students received bachelor’s degrees, 137 students received master’s degrees, and 42 students received Ph.D. degrees. The master’s degree class size was nearly a record, and indeed the Ph.D. class size was a record for the Woodruff School. We continue to have turnover among the faculty, with some people retiring or leaving Georgia Tech. We are hiring replacements and we filled two endowed chairs and a distinguished professorship. Funding was completed for the McKenney/Shiver Chair in Mechanical Building Systems. We expect to fill the position before the end of the 2002 academic year. It has been exciting for me to chair this department for more than a decade. Our faculty and staff have greatly improved our programs and the quality of the students has continually improved. This fall, we have an all-time high of 616 graduate students. Approximately 110 are enrolled in our distance learning master’s degree programs in mechanical engineering or health physics, and 37 are enrolled in our master’s program at Georgia Tech Lorraine in Metz, France. I assume we are doing things reasonably well since we continue to attract outstanding students and many employers come to campus to recruit our students. There is still much that can be done to make our programs even better. For example, I would like to establish an in-house professional leadership program similar in operation to our successful communications program. If anyone has one or two million dollars to endow the student leadership program, please give me a call. This report highlights the activities I have mentioned and more. After you read this report, if you think of anything else we should be doing better or differently, please tell me. Thank you again for your support and interest. We look forward to continued success in academic year 2002. Ward O. Winer Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. Chair of the Woodruff School September 2001 CONTENTS THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN THE ACADEMIC YEAR IN REVIEW STUDENTS SCHOLARSHIPS FELLOWSHIPS DEGREES FACULTY STAFF FINANCES THE WOODRUFF ENDOWMENT ALUMNI THE ADVISORY BOARD Ward Winer and Richard Buzon Tom Barrow and Dave McKenney This report is published each year in the fall by the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. For more information about undergraduate and graduate programs in the School, please contact us by any of the following methods: Letter Dr. Ward O. Winer Chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0405 Phone 404-894-3200 Fax 404-894-1658 E-mail [email protected] Web http://www.me.gatech.edu The most significant news since the last annual report was the completion of the five-year Capital Campaign, which was a great success for Georgia Tech and the Woodruff School. The final tally for the Woodruff School was $34,605,978, which exceeded our goal of $30,000,000. Some examples of the gifts we received during the Campaign are: ● Carter N. Paden Distinguished Chair in Metals Processing (held by Dr. David McDowell); ● HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control (held by Dr. Wayne Book); ● John M. McKenney and Warren D. Shiver Distinguished Chair in Building Mechanical Systems (to be filled); ● The Fluid Mechanics Laboratory; ● An endowment from the family of J. Erskine Love, Jr. to support manufacturing education and research in mechanical engineering. This includes the J. Erskine Love Jr. Manufacturing Building. ● A number of scholarships and graduate topping grants; ● A major gift to the Campaign by Pete Petit for building the Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience; ● A generous commitment from Nancy Gwaltney to honor Gene Gwaltney converted the Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing to the Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. Chair in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. This provides the Woodruff School chair with support for research, selected educational programs, and special initiatives within the School. Campaign Wrap-Up and Celebration To celebrate the end of the Capital Campaign on December 31, 2000, Georgia Tech held a series of events to thank all the donors to the very successful five- year effort. We Ward Winer, Connie Parish, Caroline Wood, and Pete Petit hosted a Celebration Luncheon on April 20, 2001. Dr. Ward Winer, Chair of the Woodruff School, in discussing the significance of the Campaign said: "It has been my privilege to lead the fundraising efforts for the Woodruff School during the Campaign for Georgia Tech. I was thrilled to meet new people, develop new relationships, and renew old friendships. When I called, I knew I could count on your support. Thank you all — alumni, corporations, friends, faculty, and staff — for participating in the Campaign. Because of your generous contributions, we raised $34,605,978, surpassing the School’s goal of $30 million. This is an extraordinary achievement." Dr. Winer continued, "Your participation in the Campaign is special to us and shows your commitment to Georgia Tech, the Woodruff School, and its students. All gifts, no matter the size, are vital to the School and will allow us to enhance our programs. Your generosity reinforces the education value of the Woodruff School.

Load more

  92

Copy Link