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Three alumni from the Department of Mechanical Engineering were among the 12 honorees at the college's annual Engineers' Day dinner in October. Robert L. Beran, Robert E. Bisaro, and John S. Nelson were presented Distinguished Service Awards in recognition of their contributions to the engineering profession, the UW College of Engineering, and society as a whole.
Robert L. Beran earned his BS in 1967 and his PhD in 1972. After graduation, he joined Westvaco Corporation as a research engineer, and continues his career with them, now as Research Director of the Covington Research Laboratory in Virginia. He has received six patents related to the paper-making industry during his career at Westvaco and was given the prestigious Olmsted Award in 1978 by the American Forest and Paper Association for paper industry research. During Beran's career at Westvaco, the company has recruited engineers from UW-Madison and sponsored UW research, including polymers and suspensions at the Rheology Research Center.
Robert E. Bisaro, John S. Nelson, and Robert L. Beran were honored at a departmental luncheon on Engineers' Day.
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Robert E. Bisaro began his career with Ford Motor Company soon after earning his BS in metallurgical engineering in 1966 and his MS in 1967. After rising through the ranks in emission testing, he is now manager of the Ford Correlation Engineering Department in the Vehicle Environmental Engineering Office. Shortly after joining Ford, he developed the process of induction-hardening cast-iron eylinder-head valve seats as a solution to wear problems resulting from lead's removal from gasoline in the 1970s. Bisaro was also involved in the development of catalytic converters on Ford vehicles.
Bisaro is chairman of the automotive industry's Exhaust Emission Measurement Committee, founder and member of the American Industry and Government Emission Research advisory board, and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
John S. Nelson is President and CEO of Affiliated Engineers in Madison. He received his MS degree from the ME Department in 1976 and signed on with Affiliated in 1977 as a Project Engineer. The company specializes in the mechanical design of research space and has handled buildings throughout the US for such companies as Genetech, the Red Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Allegan, and the University of Oklahoma.
Nelson has been a member of committees under the National Academy of
Science and the National Academy of Engineering. He is also a member
of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, and the Association of Energy Engineers. Additionally,
he has served on the ME Board of Visitors and is a UW-Extension
instructor of laboratory mechanical design.
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ME Newsletter is a periodic publication of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Mechanical Engineering. Correspondence should be sent to the address below.
ME Newsletter
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Editor: Gail Gawenda
gawenda@engr.wisc.edu Designer: Lynda Litzkow
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