The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has recently awarded ME Professor Noel Perkins the 2011 N.O. Myklestad award. This award is presented in recognition of a major innovative contribution to vibration engineering.
Perkins is recognized for his outstanding research contributions in the dynamics and vibration of slender structures, where his work has impacted a wide range of areas—from cable and belt dynamics, to DNA mechanics, to dynamics of sports instruments. Perkins’ work with “smart” sports instruments was also recently featured in the February 2011 issue of Popular Science. The technology, which was developed by Perkins’ lab and licensed to the sports company 94Fifty, is implanted in sports equipment—like a basketball—and then allows data to be gathered using accelerometers and gyroscopes while athletes play.
