Hong Im Receives Ralph R. Teetor Award
Hong Im
Associate Professor Hong G. Im has earned the Society of Automotive Engineer's Ralph R. Teetor Award. The award is bestowed by the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Fund to allow educators to interact with practicing engineers so that they can in turn inspire students to pursue careers in mobility engineering. Other recent Teetor Award winners in the ME department include Associate Professor Albert Shih in 2004; Associate Professor Anna Stefanopoulou in 2002; and Associate Professor Margaret Wooldridge in 2001.
The Teetor Award program brings engineering educators to the annual SAE World Congress and Exposition in Detroit or the SAE AeroTech meeting held every other year. The events attract more than 45,000 engineers who work on the research, design, development and production of land, sea, air and space vehicles.
Im has been involved in a number of research projects directly and indirectly related to the automotive industry, he says, and often presents at SAE conferences. His research focus is on high-fidelity computational modeling of laminar and turbulent reacting flows, with applications including internal combustion engines and micro-combustors.
"Recognition of my teaching and research activities by SAE is a great honor and a rewarding experience for me," said Im. "SAE is an important society in my field, especially considering the strong presence of automotive industry in Michigan."
He anticipates that the Teetor Award will enhance the recognition and visibility of his research activities, which will open up further active collaborations for his research group with governmental and industrial organizations involved in automotive research.
Many students outside his lab will benefit as well: "There are a number of graduate students in the ME department who aspire to pursue a career in the automotive industry," he said. "My increased participation in SAE activities deepens my knowledge in more practical aspects of my expertise. This will help me prepare my lectures with more up-to-date and practically relevant subjects and will guide me in future state-of-the-art research projects in modern internal combustion engines."
