MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT DECEMBER 1998 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

A newsletter for alumni, students, and friends of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Heckrodt Gift Supports Energy and Environmental Study Projects

Thanks to the generosity of one alumnus, six graduate research projects in the areas of energy and the environment were funded for the '98-'99 academic year. William Heckrodt's (BS'42) donations to the UW Foundation have generated $100,000 in funding gifts allocated to the following: Study of the Performance of the UW-Madison's Three Campus Solar Energy Systems (Profs. Beckman, Klein, Mitchell), Use of Air Conditioning Heat Rejection to Heat Swimming Pools (Beckman, Klein, Mitchell), Automotive Diesel Engine Emissions and Performance Using Biodiesel Fuels (Reitz), Development of a Free Piston Engine Pump for Utilization in a Hybrid Vehicle with Hydraulic Drive (Fronczak), Wood Devolatilization at High Temperature for Power Generation (Ragland), and Performance History of the Dow Corning Wood-Fired Powerplant (Ragland).

Graduate students working on these projects will present their results at a mini-symposium late in the spring semester and at professional conferences.

DECEMBER 1998 Contents