Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 1 No. 2 | Page 2

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and labs of Goodwin Hall.

Azim Eskandarian
ME Department Head

Entering my second year as the
head of the mechanical engineering department there are several
things I’ve come to appreciate
more than ever before. By and
large these are things we all think
we know and understand; but
until you get a close look, you may
just take for granted. For me, that
appreciation is most pronounced
as it pertains to philanthropy.
Over the years I’ve been very fortunate to have been the recipient
of a number of awards and positions that existed due to philanthropy. Of course, the honor of
these awards is not without merit
– everyone likes to be recognized
for good work - but it’s impossible
to understate the value to research
and discovery philanthropy allows.
Philanthropy often allows us to
more effectively focus our efforts
on research and mentoring our
students. We have to look no
further for an example of what
philanthropy can accomplish to
benefit discovery than the offices
From left: Mike Roan, Lei Zuo,
John Jones III, Azim Eskandarian,
and Stefan Duma. ME department head Eskandarian and
fellowship namesake Jones, stand
with three members of faculty
who have held the position of
John Jones III Faculty Fellow.
Duma is the director of the
Institute for Critical Technology
and Applied Science; Roan, Zuo,
and Michael Ellis (not pictured)
are all associate professors in
mechanical engineering.

Within our department an
excellent example of philanthropy
making a difference is the John R.
Jones III Faculty Fellowship. Recently this fellowship was awarded
to Lei Zuo, an associate professor
who continues to build on his
impressive academic credentials
with his sustainable wave energy
harvesting research and his work
within the nuclear arena. Before
Zuo, Mike Roan and Michael Ellis,
both current associate professors
in the department, and Stefan
Duma, the new director of the
Institute for Critical Technology
and Applied Science, have held the
Fellowship. This support provides
not only resources for equipment
and staff, but also stability and
peace of mind.
In one column I can’t begin to
mention each person who has
had a hand in helping to develop
the department through their
philanthropic work – whether it be
for facilities, faculty fellowships,
or student scholarships; but each
quarter we will look at one of
our philanthropic partners to see
how their generosity has made
a positive impact on students,
faculty, and the department, and
how doing so has helped to create
and maintain one of the finest
mechanical engineering programs
in the world here in Blacksburg.