Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 4 No. 4 Winter 2019 | Page 5

05
The Lead
Mehdi Ahmadian, Dan Pletta Professor of Mechan-
ical Engineering, was awarded the 2019 SAE/Magnus
Hendrickson Innovation Award. The award honors
the renowned inventor and businessman who founded
the Hendrickson Motor Truck Company in 1913, and
recognizes an individual or team whose research creates
significant, positive change and elevates vehicle dynam-
ics to new levels of innovation.
Brian Lattimer, professor of mechanical engineering,
received in October, the 2019 Sjolin Award for lifetime
contributions to the science of fire engineering. The
award came from the International Forum of Fire
Research Directors, for Lattimer's work in advanced
modeling, simulation, and robotic systems for emergen-
cy response and innovative solutions in the area of fire
engineering. The award will be presented in April 2020.
Rolf Mueller, professor of mechanical engineering,
was elected a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of
America in December. The award will be presented in
the spring. Fellows of the society are selected based on
rendering conspicuous service or notable contributions
to the advancement or diffusion of knowledge of acous-
tics or the fostering of its practical applications.
Brandon Pieroni, sophomore, and Nolan McGrady,
senior, and other Ware Lab students, took their projects
to Roanoke in November as part of STEAM Day at the
Virginia Museum of Transportation. The museum has a
2005 Formula SAE car on display. Students talked about
engineering with more than 1,000 students from two
dozen Virginia school systems throughout the course of
the event. See the TV coverage of the event here.
Lieutenant Mitch Harrison, Buena Vista Police Dept.,
presents ME senior Ben Jones with a check for $2,000
courtesy of the Buena Vista Masonic Lodge #186 and
BVPD to support the senior design UAV for CareTrak
project. The work will help extend the range of a device
used to help locate people - specifically children with
autism or adults with dementia/Alzheimers so munici-
palities can quickly find them from a greater distance.