The Mechanical Engineering department welcomes Dr. Kon-Well Wang as its new department chair, effective June 2008.
A distinguished educator and researcher in the areas of structural dynamics and vibrations, Wang most recently served as the William E. Diefenderfer Chaired Professor in Mechanical Engineering and director of the Structural Dynamics and Controls Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University. He has also been an associate director of the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence and a group leader of the Center for Acoustics and Vibration at Penn State. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and has received numerous recognitions for his accomplishments, including the ASME N.O. Myklestad Award, the ASME Adaptive Structures and Materials Systems Prize, the NASA Tech Brief Award, the Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Award, the Penn State Engineering Society (PSES) Premier Research Award and the PSES Outstanding Teaching Award. Wang is currently the chief editor of the ASME Journal of Vibration and Acoustics.
Professor Wang says it was the “high energy level and potential of the Department that inspired me and attracted me to the position. I was greatly impressed by the ME community when I visited U-M.”
The U-M selection team, likewise, was impressed with Wang’s qualifications. “He has just the right mix of characteristics,” said Professor Panos Papalambros, interim chair and member of the search committee. “His experience as a mentor is well-suited to the strong growth in the Department’s junior faculty, and his attention to detail will help bring the ME’s building and expansion plans to fruition.”
Wang adds, “I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead such a strong department, and I look forward to formulating future plans with the U-M ME community. Working together, I truly believe that we will be successful in our endeavors.”
Wang earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the National Taiwan University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
