Contact: Phil Hearn
W. Glenn Steele
The head of Mississippi State's mechanical engineering department is receiving a prestigious national award for his contributions in experimental uncertainty analysis, which measures the "goodness" of a test result.
W. Glenn Steele, also one of the university's William L. Giles Distinguished Professors, will receive a 2004 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Ground Testing Award during a June 29 conference in Portland, Ore.
Mechanical engineering is one of eight academic units in MSU's nationally recognized Bagley College of Engineering.
Hugh Coleman, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and former MSU faculty colleague of Steele, also will receive the award that consists of an engraved medal, a certificate of citation and a rosette pin.
"The award is presented for outstanding achievement in the development or effective utilization of technology, procedures, facilities or modeling techniques for flight simulation, space simulation, propulsion testing, aerodynamic testing or other ground testing associated with aeronautics and astronautics," wrote honors and awards chair L.S. "Skip" Fletcher, a Texas A&M professor, in a notification letter to Steele and Coleman.
The award citation reads: "For pioneering efforts in experimental uncertainty analysis with significant methodology advances and effective dissemination of knowledge through a straight-forward engineering approach in their text and short-course."
Uncertainty analysis measures the "goodness" of a test result, making it possible to judge the fitness of the test value as a basis for making decisions relating to health, safety, commerce, or scientific excellence.
Steele, an MSU faculty member since 1979, conducts research that incorporates uncertainty analysis into the overall design process--including both experimental design/testing and analytical/computational design. He has had contracts in energy-related areas totaling more than $3 million, including recent projects dealing with rocket engine performance testing and modeling. He also is the author of two textbooks, two book chapters and more than 90 journal articles and conference reports.
Steele received a bachelor's degree from MSU in 1968, a master's from North Carolina State University in 1970 and a doctorate from North Carolina State in 1974, all in the field of mechanical engineering. He is an associate fellow of the AIAA and a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He and Coleman will receive their honors during a luncheon held in conjunction with the Aerospace Ground Testing Conference.