Contact: Bob Ratliff
Ten engineering faculty members are Hearin-Hess Professors for 1998-99 at Mississippi State University.
The Robert M. Hearin Foundation in Jackson and the Leon Hess Foundation of New York established the faculty awards in 1989 with a $2 million gift. The annual honors recognize professional excellence and include a $5,000 award to each recipient.
This year's group includes David C. Banks, Lesia L. Crumpton, B. Keith Hodge, David H. Huddleston, Michael S. Mazzola, Robert J. Moorhead, Anthony Skjellum, Bharat K. Soni, Robert P. Taylor, and John M. Usher.
"The College of Engineering is fortunate to have an exceptional faculty and these 10 individuals are representative of the expertise found throughout the college," said Dean A. Wayne Bennett. "The support of the Hearin-Hess Foundation allows us to recognize these professors and to provide them with additional support for their work."
Banks, an assistant professor of computer science, conducts research in the areas of computer graphics, flow visualization and mathematical visualization. He also has received a National Science Foundation award to design an interactive computer graphics system for use in upper-level optics courses.
Crumpton is an associate professor of industrial engineering and the director of MSU's Ergonomics/Human Factors Program and Experimentation Laboratory. Her teaching and research specialty is ergonomics, the study of human capabilities and human performance in designing consumer products, tools and equipment.
A professor of mechanical engineering, Hodge is a Giles Distinguished Professor and a Grisham Master Teacher. A specialist in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, compressible flow and energy systems, he is internationally recognized for his studies on the effects of surface roughness on turbulent flow and heat transfer.
Huddleston, an associate professor of civil engineering, teaches courses in open channel hydraulics, water resource engineering and computational fluid dynamics. His research includes work with the Major Shared Resource facility at the Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg. In addition, he was one of the developers of "How Things Fly," a permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum.
Mazzola is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. A teacher and researcher in high voltage engineering and power electronics, he currently coordinates a five-school university-industry coalition evaluating the use of composite materials for naval vessels.
Moorhead, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, is a leader in scientific visualization research. Also involved in environmental visualization and digital image processing, he has research projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Waterways Experiment Station, the Naval Oceanographic Office and the Office of Naval Research.
An associate professor of computer science, Skjellum teaches courses in advanced systems, parallel scientific computing and operating systems, among others. He taught the first MSU course on C++, an advanced programming language. His research areas include parallel algorithms, parallel software development and scientific computing.
Soni is a professor of aerospace engineering who teaches in the areas of numerical grid generation, fluid mechanics and computational geometry. His research with numerical geometry-grid generation, computational fluid dynamics and system optimization includes projects supported by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the Boeing Co. and the U.S. Air Force Office of Research.
Mechanical engineering professor Robert P. Taylor is an expert on the effects of surface roughness on heat transfer and fluid drag. NASA's Argonne National Laboratory and other agencies have sponsored his research. He also has developed system models of hydrogen and oxygen systems for rocket test facilities at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.
Usher is an associate professor of industrial engineering. His research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence to manufacturing, with emphasis on systems that support and enhance the design and process planning functions. He also serves as a technical director of the university's Computer Integrated Manufacturing Laboratory.