Noel Perkins (top left), Sridhar Kota (top right), Huei Peng (bottom left)
At the upcoming ASME 2011 International Design Engineering Technical Conference (IDETC) in Washington, DC, ME Professors Noel Perkins, Sridhar Kota, and Huei Peng will be keynote speakers. The conference will take place from August 28-31 and is the flagship international meeting for Design Engineering and includes a number of conferences such as the 23rd Biennial Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise, the 35th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, and the 23rd International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology. The IDETC will include plenary sessions, keynote lectures, and tutorials on topics related to engineering design and computers in engineering.
Noel Perkins will be speaking on “Computing the Twisted Mechanics of Your DNA”. He received his Ph. D., M.S., and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California – Berkeley. His research focuses on Dynamics including vibration and stability, nonlinear dynamics, and experiment methods. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a recipient of the General Motors Outstanding Distance Learning Faculty Award. His keynote will provide an overview of a computational rod model that simulates the twisting/bending dynamics of DNA during large conformational changes of the molecule. These effects will be highlighted in a series of example systems that include the looping of DNA by a gene-regulatory protein.
Sridhar Kota will be speaking on “Innovation and US-based Manufacturing”. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, his M.S. in Materials Engineering from the University of Mississippi, and his B.S. from Osmania University. His research includes synthesis of bio-inspired engineering systems, shape-adapted compliant structures, and electromechanical systems design. He has authored over 200 technical papers including Best Paper awards. His paper at the conference will deal with how innovation and manufacturing are intricately linked. It will highlight the Obama Administration’s priorities in advanced manufacturing and the significance of systems engineering and manufacturing as a means of ensuring economic, energy, and national security.
Huei Peng will be speaking on “Design and Control of Electrified Vehicles for Improved Fuel Economy”. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California – Berkeley, his M.S. from Pennsylvania State University, and his B.S. from National Taiwan University, all in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include adaptive control and optimal control, with an emphasis on their applications to vehicular and transportation systems. His current research focuses include design and control of hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle active safety systems. Peng has authored over 190 technical publications, including 80 in referred journals and transactions. His speech will present current development trends and efforts of electrified vehicles, as well as the application of modern modeling, design and control techniques on the design of electrified vehicles, as well as their integration into the future transportation and grid energy solution.
