Florida Institute of Technology - Ad Astra Yearbook (Melbourne, FL)

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the same as the total number of such de- grees awarded during the five-year period from 1975 through the end of 1979. A new Ph.D. program was begun in the 1981-82 academic year, and currently enrolls five students, four of them full-time. Only two universities in the state have larger doctor- al enrollments in Mechanical Engineering. Above right: Dr. Bowman, Head Above: | to r: Dr. Scaringe, Dr. Thrasher, Mr. Stiles, Dr. Bowman, Dr. Rowe, Dr. Stasa, not pictured: Dr. Czyzewski. The Mechanical Engineering Department was formed at the end of the academic year 1971-72, although its origins date back to the early history of Florida Institute of Technology when “Space Technology” was one of the first programs to be offered by what was then Brevard Engineering College. Dr. Roman Johns, a geophysicist, came to F.I.T. in 1967 to assume the posi- tion of Head of the Space Technology De- partment, and soon thereafter the curricu- lum was extensively revised such that the strong physics electrical engineering ori- entation of earlier years was replaced by a tendency in the direction of mechanical (or aeronautical) engineering. The first mechanical engineer was added to the fac- ulty in September 1969 when Dr. Tom Bowman, the current Mechanical Engi- neering Department Head, arrived from Martin Marietta Corporation’s Denver Di- vision, and the second came two years later in the person of Dr. Tom DeFazio, from M.I.T.’s Instrumentation Laboratory. Also new in 1971 was Dr. Bob Newman, a met- allurgical engineer formerly on the faculty of Vanderbilt University. At the same time, the department underwent a name change from Space Technology to Space Sciences and Mechanical Engineering. It existed for only one year in this form, splitting in Spring 1972 with the Space Sciences conti- gent and Dr. Newman being combined with Physics, and the formation of a sepa- rate Department of Mechanicai Engineer- ing consisting of Drs. Bowman and DeFa- zio, reporting to Dr. Andy Revay, Head of the Electrical Engineering Department. One year later, the department strengthened by the internal transfer of Dr. Newman and the materials laboratory to Mechanical Engineering, and application was MECHANICAL ENGINEERING was made for professional accreditation. The program was reviewed, along with Electrical Engineering, early in 1974 by a team from the Engineering Council for Professional Development, and was accre- dited on the first attempt. The accredita- tion initially was for a four-year period. until 1978, with the possibility of a two- year extension based on a written report to be submitted in 1977; that extension was achieved, as well as re-accreditation in 1980 for the maximum possible six-year period, based on a thorough review by a visiting accrediation team in Fall, 1979. In the meantime, Dr. Revay’s increasing responsibilities resulted in the department Head position being passed on to Dr. Bow- man in July 1978, at which time a new department office was created on the fifth floor of the Crawford Building and the first department secreatry was added. At the present time the full-time faculty has grown from the initial two to seven, plus one full- time technician, one administrative secre- tary, one clerk typist, several adjunct facul- ty, and an eighth full-time faculty member currently on leave of absence. All current department personnel have joined the de- partment since the separation from Electri- cal Engineering: Mrs. Brenda Hill in July 1978, Drs. Anne Rowe and Ali El-Nashar in January 1979, Drs. Tadeusz Czyzewski and Frank Stasa in September 1979, Dr. Bill Thrasher in January 1980, Mr. Jack Burgess in February 1980, Mr. Palmer Stiles in September 1980, and Dr. Robert Scaringe and Miss Vickie Borton in Sep- tember 1982. Significant levels of funded research began in 1973, with a contract from NASA Ken- nedy Space Center for a study related to their planned Space Shuttle propellant handling facilities, and continued at a level of approximately $100,00 per year for the next five years, primarily in the areas of propellants and solar energy. As Space Shuttle ground support equipment passed from the r and d stage to the drawing board and finally installation on-site at KSC, the level of our total research fund- ing declined to $60,000 per year during the period 1979-82 rising to $80,000 in fiscal year 1983, all of it currently in the solar energy area. At the same time, student enrollment has increased very substantially, including a doubling in undergraduate enrollment from Spring 1977 to Spring 1979, followed by a continued but less dramatic increase since then. Graduate enrollment more than tripled between Spring 1978 and Spring 1982. In 1983, the department expects to graduate around 35 B.S. and 10 M.S. Me- chanical Engineers; each of these figures is 223

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a} MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES Above left: Dr. Clutterham, Head: Above: | to r: Dr. Dorean, Mr. Rodstein, Dr. Jacson, Dr. Hand, Mr. Dufour, not pictured: Dr. Abdo, Dr. Buoni, Mr. Clay, Mr. Davis, Dr. DeSua, Dr. Fulton, Dr. Genis, Mr. Gould, Mrs. Knoll, Mr. Mohit. : 222 — ——$$————$— $$$ e e =

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224 ENGINEERING OCEANOGRAPHY AND OCEAN Dr. D. Norris, Head; Dr. J. Breeding, Drz S.. Costa, Dr. WW aNelsonw Dre Reichard, Dr. A. Rice, Dr. J. Sainsbury, Drr. D. Stauble, Dr. J. Trefry, Dr. J. Windsor. A Department of Oceanography was initiated in 1966 with a curriculum in physical oceanography only. Biological and chemical oceanography were added over the next five years. The ocean engineering program was established in 1972 when the department became the Department of Oceanography and Ocean Engineering. An additional curriculum, in geological oceanography, became available in 1980. Present research ef- forts by faculty, research assistants, and graduate students in the department include chemical oceanography studies in the Gulf of Mexico and biological geological studies on our own coast. A research team headed by Dr. John H. Trefry is investigating the fate of selected pollutants (e.g. lead, cadmium, and mer- cury) which are carried down the Mississippi River. The NOAA funded researchers are using “state of the art” instru- mentation to analyze sediments from the river delta to deter- mine concentrations and fate of the polluntants. To determine the impact on marine life, levels of these toxic metals in shrimp and other marine organisms are being investigated. Levels of various presticides in the delta region are also being studied. Dr. Donald K. Stauble and Dr. Walter G. Nelson are both supported by the Florida Sea Grant College to develop engi- neering and biological guidelines for future beach restoration projects in Florida. The researchers and their support person- nel are analyzing various aspects of the Brevard County beaches as well as beach restoration sites around the state. Dr. Iver W. Duedall, our new department head, adds strength to an already strong program in chemical oceanography. Thus, we are presently adding a Ph.D. program in chemical oceanog- raphy. We will continue to improve the quality of educational opportunities at both the graduate and undergraduate levels while we expand our research efforts. Also, facilities are being developed for a computer aided design laboratory and a new wave tank facility for use by o cean engineering and oceanogra- phy students.