ANN ARBOR—
Fifteen University of Michigan faculty members were given the emeritus title by the U-M Regents at their May 20-21 meeting.
Those retiring are Dale E. Briggs, professor of chemical engineering; Yu-Min Chou, professor of business economics and finance at the U-M-Dearborn; Linda L. Daniel, associate professor of nursing; Raymond Grew, professor of history; Michael M. Martin, professor of biology;
Herman Merte Jr., professor of mechanical engineering; Lawrence B. Mohr, professor of political science and of public policy; Paul F. Nowak, associate professor of natural resources; Charles E. Olson Jr., professor of natural resources; Willis C. Patterson, professor of music;
Ara G. Paul, professor of pharmacognosy; John E. Taylor, professor of aerospace engineering; Patricia F. Waller, senior research scientist and professor of health management and policy; John B. Woodward, professor of naval architecture and marine engineering; E. Benjamin Wylie, professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Briggs joined the U-M faculty in 1961. “His research and teaching activities were diverse and included industrial heat transfer, clean fuels from coal, and air and water pollution control,” the Regents said. “He was a member of the interdisciplinary College of Engineering committee that established the Environmental Sciences and Engineering Program, and he served as the program’s chair and program adviser in 1974-77. Under his leadership as chair, the program became an accredited engineering program.”
Chou, who joined the U-M-Dearborn faculty in 1966, “was instrumental in developing the economics and finance curriculum. He also published extensively in the area of international economics and finance. His expertise in international economics was critical to the Dearborn campus as the global economy became prevalent. For decades, his scholarly work has greatly influenced both the curriculum and students on the Dearborn campus. He served as chair of the Department of Finance and Business Economics. He also served as director of the International Business Institute.”
Daniel, who joined the U-M faculty in 1970, “contributed strength and creativity to the instructional and service initiatives in Community Health Nursing,” the Regents said. “She carried major responsibility for the basic undergraduate course which is part of the school’s core curriculum.. She also contributed significantly to the graduate program in Community Health Nursing. It was her creative and persistent efforts that in 1991 resulted in the establishment of the North Campus Family Health Service, a nurse-managed wellness and primary care center that delivers culturally sensitive primary health care to the University families living on North Campus.”
Grew joined the U-M faculty in 1964. “Both in his own research and in his role as editor of Comparative Studies in Society and History in 1973-97, he developed, through his work in French and Italian history of the 19th and 20th centuries, an approach that is both comparative and interdisciplinary. His publications and papers on subjects as diverse as the Italian Risorgimento, education and religion in France, the role of food in global history, and the theory and practice of comparative history in Europe and America, have made him a leader in the approach and development of historical studies that is not only a social science but also an overreaching interpretation of human culture.”
Martin joined the U-M faculty in 1959 and served as chair of the Division of Biological Sciences in 1982-85; associate dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in 1991-95; and director of the LSA Honors Program in 1997-98. “His extraordinary abilities as a teacher were recognized by his appointment as an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in 1996. Through most of his career, he has focused on the biochemistry, physiology, and nutritional ecology of herbivorous insects. He was a pioneer in studying the role of ingested fungi in the nutrition of plant-eating insects, elucidating how fungal enzymes found inside the insect gut are responsible for the ability of insects to digest cellulose.”
Merte, who joined the U-M faculty in 1959, “has carried out research and published papers on many topics in heat transfer with emphasis on phase changes under reduced and high gravity fields. Among these topics are dynamics of phase change, boiling, and condensation; the study of boiling heat transfer (pool and flow) in microgravity; and heat transfer in wire bundles. As a result of his studies, a clearer picture is emerging on the role of buoyancy in the heat transfer associated with boiling and condensation. Particularly interesting activities are now taking place with pool boiling in the NASA-sponsored study of long-term microgravity environment of the space shuttle.”
Mohr, who joined the U-M faculty in 1966, made “major contributions to many aspects of the study of public policy and public organizations. He authored four major books and numerous articles on such diverse and significant topics as organizational behavior, program evaluation, statistical significance testing, and the causes of human behavior. In recognition of his leadership in his field, in 1992 Prof. Mohr received the Donald T. Campbell Award, given by the Policy Studies Association for ‘outstanding methodological innovation in public policy studies.”
Nowak joined the U-M faculty in 1974. “As the principal investigator on the first national environmental education grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in 1994, he was instrumental in the development of new techniques for training natural resource professionals and environmental educators. The National Consortium for Environmental Education and Training was a three-year grant for $6.2 million. The EE-Link web site that resulted from this grant draws over 3,000 visitors per day, and it also received 24 web site awards. As part of his work in developing mid-career training program, he received seven grants from the EPA to develop training programs for federal and state employees who are responsible for hazardous waste.”
Olson, who joined the U-M faculty in 1964, “taught undergraduate and graduate courses in map and image interpretation, remote sensing of environment, and imaging radar. He has also taught courses in digital processing of remote sensor data, applications of geographic information systems, multiple-use forest management, and fire ecology. He has served the School of Natural Resources and Environment as director of the Remote Sensing Laboratory since 1970; as graduate chair in 1972-74; and as dean in 1974-75.”
Patterson joined the U-M faculty in 1968. “Within the School of Music, he has been an effective and inspiring teacher of voice, both on campus and during summers at the National Music Camp at Interlochen. Perhaps his most visible role in the University community was as the charismatic director of the Men’s Glee Club in 1969-74. He served as chair of the voice faculty in 1975-79 and as associate dean of the School of Music in 1979-98. When he joined the faculty in 1968, he was the first—and for a while, only—African American member of the music faculty. Among his honors are the Marion Anderson Award for Young Singers (1958) and the Singer of the Year Award from the National Association of Teachers of Singing (1959)”
Paul, who joined the U-M faculty in 1957, served as dean of the College of Pharmacy in 1975-95. “Under his leadership, the College became known as one of the premier centers for pharmacy education and research in the world. As a result of his efforts, the College enjoys a distinguished faculty and professional and graduate students of the highest quality. Alumni have also benefited from the alumni services and programs implemented during his tenure as dean. In recognition of his exceptional record as a teacher, mentor, and scholar, he has received a number of awards.”
Taylor, who joined the U-M faculty in 1968, “gained practical experience through industry work at Boeing Airplane Company and the Whittaker Corporation. In 1967, he received a patent for ‘solid Medium Thermal Engine’ and he has a great working model of it. At Michigan, he has been a pioneer in structural optimization methods, creating a course, ‘Optimal Structural Design,’ taken by students in many engineering disciplines. He has done research on many aspects of structural mechanics, including plate theory, buckling, vibration, and optimization.”
Waller came to the U-M in 1989 as director of the U-M Transportation Research Institute. “Under her direction, UMTRI broadened its scope of research investigation to involve faculty from many schools and colleges. She led three large, federally funded projects, one demonstrating the effects of alcohol on injury, another examining the risk-taking behaviors of adolescent drivers, and a third examining the effect of alcohol on older drivers. On the national level, she developed a model program for driver licensing and monitoring of large trucks for the U.S. Department of Transportation, which became the basis for legislation establishing the commercial driver license.”
Woodward, who joined the U-M faculty in 1963, “taught 13 different courses, ranging from the sophomore-level introduction to naval architecture through several at the most advanced levels, including five courses that he originated. He created some of the world’s earliest courses in computer-aided design and became known overseas for his pioneering lectures in Europe. In addition, he organized and taught five summer courses for practicing engineering. His reputation, and that of the U-M, became further enhanced with the highly acclaimed books he published on the subjects of marine gas turbines and marine diesel engines.”
Wylie, who joined the U-M faculty in 1965, served as chair of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1984-90 and of the renamed Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1991-94. “Prof. Wylie’s research specialty was fluid transients, specifically in the numerical simulation of transient phenomena through the methods of characteristics. Over his career, he adapted the methodology to the simulation of a wide variety of applications, including extension of water hammer analysis, simulation of soil pore water transients during earthquakes, and simulation of the inflation of automobile air bags.”
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