USD Engineering Professors Honored
Two University of San Diego engineering professors were honored during National Engineers Week.
USD Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Frank G. Jacobitz was named Outstanding Engineering Educator at the San Diego County Awards Banquet held at USD in late February that recognized the contributions of local engineers. Jacobitz was recognized for his outstanding contributions to engineering education and research.
Jacobitz was the first-full time faculty member in mechanical engineering when he came to USD in 2003. He has since been joined by several other faculty members. “Professor Jacobitz has been instrumental in the program’s initial development and has made notable contributions to the development of our instructional laboratories,†says USD Professor Kathleen Kramer, the chair of USD’s engineering programs.
“He is well-known in our department for his work with students; it extends outside his highly rated classroom work to include several student research projects and his efforts as the founding advisor of our American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter.â€
Jacobitz, a native of Germany, earned his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. His research interests include direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows with shear, rotation and stratification as bio-fluid mechanical problems at the micro scale.
The awards banquet also honored USD Engineering Professor Emeritus Thomas Avolt Kanneman who passed away last November. He was honored with the Outstanding Service Award that will now be named after him.
“It was wonderful to see Professor Kanneman’s many years of professional service and leadership recognized during San Diego’s National Engineering Week,†Kramer says. “National Engineers Week was particularly meaningful to Professor Kanneman who was an active member with more organizations than any other faculty member I have ever met. He had made his professional service to National Engineers Week his highest professional priority for more than 10 years and it is extremely fitting that his work was so recognized.â€
National Engineers Week is always celebrated at the time of George Washington’s birthday since the first U.S. president was a military engineer and land surveyor. Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems was the week’s corporate sponsor in San Diego. General Dynamics Information Technology, Rick Engineering Co. and Solar Turbines Inc. were new banquet sponsors for 2008.
By Liz Harman