For outstanding achievements and leadership in microfluidics and nanofluidics, Timothy Ameel, professor and chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering has been named a 2015 fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the organization’s highest membership grade.
He is recognized by his peers as a pioneer for his seminal work in microchannel flows and heat transfer. Ameel’s work on slip flow convection in microchannels has resulted in a number of important advances that have helped shape the understanding of these important microscale conditions.
Professor Ameel has had a profound and long lasting influence on virtually all aspects of the development of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) at the University of Utah. Since joining the ME faculty in 1996 and especially as Department Chair since 2009, he has played key roles in developing and fostering research, in hiring our outstanding faculty, and in shaping our curricula.
A member of the ASME organization since 1992, being selected as a fellow is a meaningful marker for Ameel in his career.
“This is truly a great honor. I am thrilled to be selected to this exemplary group.” said Ameel.
ASME’s stated mission “is to serve diverse global communities by advancing, disseminating and applying engineering knowledge for improving the quality of life; and communicating the excitement of engineering,” and is comprised of 136,591 members.
Dr. Ameel championed successfully the integration of undergraduate labs with the lecture classes that provide continual and direct reinforcement of the fundamentals. The department’s unique undergraduate curriculum emphasizes hands-on experiences in team-based, competition projects. Traditional subjects are infused with year-long active learning projects, labs, and projects. Other program enhancements developed by Dr. Ameel include two new mechanical engineering degrees; a B.S./M.S degree and a M.S. non-thesis degree.
He was the Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI for two National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grants. These were extremely competitive grants. The fact that he played a major role in two of these awards is strong evidence of his creativity and leadership in development and implementation of new and innovative academic programs for future academic and research leaders within the U.S.A.
Receiving his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University in 1991, Ameel has a consistent sponsored research record resulting in 86 peer reviewed journal and conference papers and an international reputation in microchannel flows and heat transfer. He has mentored 36 M.S. and Ph.D. students as their major professor and supervised numerous undergraduate student projects. He has been active in securing external funding for students, having been responsible for providing research assistantships to over 70 students a the University of Utah. Select awards and honors that Dr. Ameel has received include the Fulbright Scholar Award, the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, and several College of Engineering Teaching Awards.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah is committed to providing students with broad-based, rigorous and progressive education. By combining state-of-the-art facilities with renowned faculty, the department provides an education that gives students the necessary skills to become the next generation of innovators.