Orthopaedic Biomechanics, Soft Tissue Material Characterization, Non-linear Finite Element Analysis, Medical Image Registration, Polymer Constitutive Behavior, Computational Biomechanics

Anton Bowden joined the mechanical engineering department at BYU in 2007. He has expertise in nonlinear finite element analysis, medical image registration, solid mechanics, and computational biomechanics. He has developed highly detailed, anatomically fidelic, computational models of the normal and pathological human spine. He has experience with orthopedic and diagnostic medical devices from product liability, regulatory compliance, and product development perspectives. His research interests include combining medical imaging with computational mechanics to examine in situ stress states of biological tissue and orthopedic implants, as well as in vivo characterization of material properties. He has also developed novel methodologies for measuring wear in retrieved polyethylene implants using µCT imaging.

Biomechanics and neural control of movement, movement disorders, technology for assisting and rehabilitating patients with movement disorders

Steven K. Charles is currently an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a faculty member in BYU's Neuroscience Center. As a biomedical engineer, Steven investigates how humans control their movements, what goes wrong in movement disorders, and how to use technology to help patients with movement disorders. His interdisciplinary research lies at the intersection of engineering, neuroscience and rehabilitation. Before coming to BYU in 2010, Steven investigated the movement impairments of patients with cerebellar ataxia as a post-doctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University. While completing his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Medical Engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Steven characterized human wrist movement behavior to set a baseline for robotic rehabilitation of wrist movements in stroke patients. Before his doctoral studies, he obtained an M.S. degree from MIT and a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University, both in Mechanical Engineering.

Robotics, Haptic Interfaces, Dynamic Systems

Mark Colton received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah, with an emphasis on haptic interfaces. While completing his PhD, he served as a Visiting Instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University. Professor Colton previously received an MS degree from the University of Utah while working for the Center for Engineering Design on the design and control of neuro-prosthetic arms. He has worked for Sarcos, Inc. on various research and entertainment robotics projects. His current research interests include haptic interfaces and socially assistive robotics.

Composites, Nano-composites, Microscopy, Computational Methods in Materials Science

David Fullwood is a member of the Materials group in the Mechanical Engineering Department at BYU. Following his PhD in mathematics he spent 12 years working for the nuclear industry in the UK. As Head of R&D and Head of Mechanical Engineering he developed high-speed energy storage flywheels based on novel composites for two spin-off companies. The result was the most high-tech flywheel available, with applications on the NY Metro, a Fuji wind farm and other areas requiring energy smoothing. Dr Fullwood returned to academia in 2004, with a brief spell at Drexel University followed by his current position at BYU. He now focuses on composites / nano-composites, microscopy and computational methods in materials science.

Materials Modeling, Mechanical Behavior of Polycrystalline and Amorphous Metals, Computational Methods in Materials Science, Microstructure Evolution

Prof. Homer received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, in 2006 and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA in 2010.  This education was followed by a year-long postdoctoral appointment in the Computational Materials Science & Engineering Department at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM.  He has performed research and published papers of materials science topics that focus primarily on mechanical behavior of amorphous and polycrystalline metals.  He was also the recipient of the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship.

Heat Transfer, Microscale Transport, Solar-Thermal Energy, Thermal Energy Storage

Brian D. Iverson joined the faculty at Brigham Young University in 2012. Prior to his current position, he worked as a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories. While there his research included thermal storage integration in trough solar-thermal power plants, supercritical CO₂ Brayton cycles for solar, thermocline energy storage, flux sensors for closed-loop tracking, among others. He has analyzed transport and interfacial phenomena in thermal, energy and bio-systems and worked as a post-doctoral researcher at Purdue University. He completed his PhD in 2008 while investigating integrated micropumping techniques for electronics cooling and biodevices as a part of the Cooling Technologies Research Center also at Purdue. His micropumping work includes actuation techniques such as induction-type electrohydrodynamics and electroosmotic pumping. He obtained an MS degree in 2004 while studying wick structure performance and properties in flat heat pipes. He is also a graduate of Brigham Young University (BS 2002).

Multiuser Collaborative CAx Tool and Method Development, Engineering Design and Manufacturing, CAD-centric Parametric Optimization and Robust Design

C. Greg Jensen joined the faculty at BYU in 1983. He received both his BS and MS at BYU. In 1993 he completed his dissertation, “Analysis and Synthesis of Multi-axis Sculptured Surface Machining” at Purdue University. He is currently the director of the NSF IUCRC v-CAx site (a sub-site off the Center for e-Design) that is focused on the development of next generation multiuser collaborative cloud-based CAx tools and methods. Dr. Jensen was chosen as the first Fulton College Professorship of Global Engineering, a position he held from 2007 -2009. Under the direction of Dr. Jensen, BYU’s mechanical engineering students have participated in six PACE global collaborative design projects. From 2006-2010 he directed a PACE Project that spanned 19 time zones and involved 26 national and international schools in the modeling, analysis and manufacturing of four working Formula-1 type racecar. Dr. Jensen has also conducted research in Engineering Design and Modeling found in the specific areas of Computer Aided Geometric Design, Parametric CAx Modeling, and Multi-discipline CAD-centric Design Optimization. He is currently involved in the development next generation CAx tools, curvature matched machining methods, parametrics and customization of CAx tools for industries like Boeing, GM, Pratt & Whitney, ATK, Ford, Belcan, etc.

Engineering Design, Product Development, Compliant Mechanisms

Professor Magleby came to BYU in 1989 after 6 years in the military aircraft industry developing tools for advanced aircraft design and manufacture, concurrent engineering methods, and interdisciplinary design teams. At BYU he has pursued research in design of products that use new mechanism technologies, design tools and processes that bridge engineering and business, and engineering team formation and management. Dr. Magleby teaches design at the graduate and undergraduate level, and is interested in educational partnerships with industry. He has helped oversee more than 200 undergraduate and graduate design projects through his involvement with the Capstone and Interdisciplinary Product Development programs. He has been nationally recognized for his contributions in engineering design education. Dr. Magleby currently serves as the Associate Dean of the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.

Superhydrophobic Surface Flow Physics and Heat Transfer; Microscale Transport; Cavitation and Vibration in Liquid Flow; Supersonic Jet Acoustics; Elecroosmotic Flow and Heat Transport; Turbomachinery Performance Modeling

Daniel Maynes joined the Mechanical Engineering Department in August 1997. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah, where, prior to his appointment at BYU he was a post-doctoral research professor and instructor. Other experience includes employment with the Space Dynamics Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Professor Maynes teaches Fluid Mechanics at the undergraduate level in addition to Incompressible Flow, Compressible Flow, and Convective Heat Transfer at the graduate level. Professor Maynes’ research interests are in superhydrophobic surface fluid flow physics and thermal transport, micro scale fluid mechanics and convection heat transfer, electro-osmotic transport dynamics; laser based experimental measurement methodologies and rotating turbulent mixing flows.

Welding, Welding Metallurgy, Friction Stir Welding, Materails Characterization, Fracture and Failure Charaterization, Fracture Mechanics

Dr. Tracy Nelson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in Welding and Materials Engineering from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining BYU, he worked as a research assistant at Edison Welding Institute from 1989 to 1993 and as a materials engineering at Westinghouse-Power Generation from 1993-1994. At BYU his research focus includes materials and failure related issues involving welding. During the past four years Dr. Nelson’s research focus has been in the area of Friction Stir Welding, a relatively new solid state joining process. During this time Dr. Nelson has authored and co-authored numerous papers, proceedings and patents in friction stir welding.

Advanced Design Methods, Mechanisms, Automation

Dr. Ed Red teaches and conducts research in the areas of advanced design, mechanisms and automation. Before coming to BYU, he was a director of the Robotics Labs at Texas A&M U. He is a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, has published 3 textbooks and over 100 articles in mechanics, robotics and automation. He has several patents granted or pending. In addition, Dr. Red has spun off two companies, consulted for many others, and commercialized several automation and control related products. He is the recipient of a number of research and teaching awards and has monitored many M.S. and PhD graduate students.

Dr. Red is currently pursuing multi-user distributed collaborative design methods where personnel can jointly enter an application session, and simultaneously edit an application model, like a CAD part, large CAD assembly, or FEA analysis model.

Friction Stir Welding, Design Team Formation Methods, Effects of Manufacturing Process Variation in Design

Carl Sorensen is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Undergraduate Coordinator. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science from MIT and has worked as a consultant in manufacturing processes for General Electric and Chrysler, as well as numerous smaller companies. He has coached more than 20 Capstone projects and has published approximately 30 scholarly papers.

Combustion, Optical Diagnostics

Dale R. Tree is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and has taught at Brigham Young University since 1994. In addition to working at BYU, Dr. Tree has worked two years as a Senior Engineer at Cummins Engine Company (studying the effects of high pressure fuel injection on diesel combustion) and completed a year of research at Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore, California (using optical diagnostics to understand soot formation processes in a diesel engine). Currently, Dr. Tree is working on projects involving oxyfuel combustion and ash deposition in coal and biomass systems.