Faculty and staff news

Professor and Associate Dean Michael Corradini has been invited to join the MIT Visiting Committee for Nuclear Engineering. Mike is currently chair of a panel for the DOE Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee (NERAC); the panel is concerned with the future of university research reactors and nuclear engineering education.

Mohamed Sawan, senior scientist and a member of the Fusion Technology Institute, was awarded Fellow status by the American Nuclear Society. This honored membership grade is conferred on members who have made significant contributions to the advancement of nuclear science and technology. Mohamed was recognized for his national and international leadership and contributions in radiation transport, shielding and activation analysis for fusion reactor studies.

Former students and research associates of Millard Johnson, professor emeritus of engineering mechanics, held a Festschrift in his honor. Joseph Grundler (North Carolina A&T), Richard McLay, (University of Iowa), Raj Huilgol (Flinders University of South Australia), Jeffrey Suhling (Auburn University), Stan Russell (Motorola), Michael Pecht (University of Maryland) and Dan Segalman (AFOSR) gave talks on their current research interests. The event was organized by Richard McLay. It was fascinating to see the broad range of topics that Millard's students have gotten involved in; this speaks well of solid education and mentoring provided by Millard.

At the invitation of the Committee on Fatigue of Materials, Japan Society of Materials Science, Emeritus Professor Bela Sandor presented a series of lectures at Fukuoka, Osaka, and Kyoto universities in September and October 2000. His topics were thermo-elastic stress analysis, fatigue damage analysis of joints and mechanics aspects of the Pharaoh's racing chariots. Bela and Ruth enjoyed spending time with former students and were relieved that the 7.3 magnitude Tottori earthquake of Oct. 6 was reckoned as only a 6 at the Okayama hillside house where they were staying. It delayed their Bullet train a day and thus allowed them opportunity to enjoy the more pleasant level-3 aftershocks.