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Kikuchi to Direct New Toyota Research Facility

04/02/2008

Kikuchi Professor Noboru Kikuchi has been appointed the Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, pending Regental approval. This prestigious honor recognizes his seminal contributions to computational mechanics, his exceptional commitment to the pursuit of excellence in the Mechanical Engineering Department over the past 25 years, as well as his overall professional accomplishments and international stature.

Noboru received his BE (1974) from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and MSc (1975) and PhD (1977) degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1980 and has overseen the doctoral work of 51 PhD graduates at Michigan, 19 of whom are currently faculty members at other institutions. His research interests are in the areas of finite element methods, metal forming, friction contact problems, numerical grid generation, structural optimization, computation composite mechanics and symbolic manipulation software. Noboru also serves as chair of the Board of Directors for the Japan Association for Nonlinear Computer Aided Engineering, director of Toyota Central R&D Laboratory and associate technical advisor, Production Division, Toyota Motor Corporation. He is a Fellow of the International Association for Computational Mechanics and received the Henry Russel Award from the University in 1985, in addition to other honors and awards including the Outstanding Teaching Award and Outstanding Research Award from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Distinguished Research Award and Distinguished Service Award from the College. He has published extensively.

This newly endowed professorship, made possible through the generosity of Roger L. McCarthy, is intended to support the teaching and scholarship of a distinguished faculty member in Mechanical Engineering. Roger graduated with an AB in Philosophy and a BSEME in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1972. He received his SM in Mechanical Engineering in 1973, his MechE in 1975 and his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 1977 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr McCarthy was formerly president and chief executive officer before becoming chairman of the largest engineering firm in the nation dedicated primarily to the analysis and prevention of scientific or engineering failures – Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. In 1998, Dr. McCarthy was awarded the Army’s Gold Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. Dr. McCarthy has also published several dozen scientific papers, is a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering External Advisory Board, and received the Department of Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society Merit Award.

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