ME Faculty Take Pop Quiz!
In this series, the ME department's student reporter turns the tables on an ME faculty member with the intention of getting to know them on a more personal level. The questions range from a variety of topics such as education, research, teaching and a fun facts section. The Q&A "pop-quiz" format is demonstrative of the relaxed and informal nature of the questions.
November 2009
Assistant Professor Santiago Solares shares thoughts about his influential professors, why he enjoyed his thermodynamics class, how he makes his own classes fun and interesting for the students and his favorite ride at the amusement park.
October 2009
Professor Shapour Azarm provides insight into his decision to become a college professor, why he selected the University of Maryland to pursue his professional goals, his current research projects and what he does for fun.
September 2009
Associate Professor Jeffrey Herrmann talks about his favorite professor, gives advice to students, updates us on his current projects and shares his favorite dessert.
Santiago Solares, Assistant Professor
Q: Who was your most influential college professor and why?
A: Throughout my studies I learned different things from many different professors and researchers so it would be very difficult to pick a single person as the most influential. However, a few examples of qualities that made an impression on me are my doctoral advisor Prof. William Goddard’s friendly attitude and readiness to discuss and develop new ideas and Dr. Mario Blanco’s (one of the senior group leaders and mentors in Prof. Goddard’s group) readiness to give of his time to help others in their professional and non-professional needs. Profs. Zhen-Gang Wang (Thermodynamics), Dorval Carias (Calculus and Applied Mathematics) and Joseph Sharit (Probability and Statistics) showed me sincere dedication and high standards in teaching. Prof. Joseph Sharit also had a wealth of advice in terms of academic career development and was very helpful during my graduate school application process.
Q: What was your favorite undergraduate class?
A: I enjoyed thermodynamics quite a bit. I found it abstract and difficult at times, but I liked its depth. It is one of the subjects I’ve spent the most time thinking about and trying to understand.
Q: What was the best advice you received as an undergraduate student?
A: I very am thankful for a great deal of advice and mentoring during my studies. In particular, there are two pieces of advice that I recall most often. First, I was constantly encouraged to go the extra mile and persevere in my studies and work. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that excellence, commitment, hard work and dedication are essential to success. Second, I was also reminded quite often to discern my call in life, as well as the priorities that went along with it. This has helped me add meaning to what I do, put things in perspective and seek balance. For example, this prevents me from neglecting important aspects of family life, which can easily be compromised in today’s busy life.
Q: Why did you decide to become a professor?
A: I had two reasons for this. First, after working in industry for several years, it was my perception that most of my technical coworkers believed that the real world could not be accurately understood through the fundamental relationships and theories that are taught in school. While I agree that there are limitations in developing accurate models of reality, I strongly disagree with this point of view. Too often I have seen corporate engineers struggling with concepts that were taught to them during their undergraduate studies, whose neglect led in many cases to severe consequences. In fact, most of my industrial career was spent solving quality or process engineering problems through the application of very basic engineering principles. I felt called to help students understand the applicability and value of what they learn in school. The second reason was my natural curiosity in learning about the way nature is structured, which I felt could be best explored in an academic position. I have always been fascinated by the field of atomic physics.
Q: What do you like most about UMD?
A: I enjoy the many friendships I have among students, staff and faculty. Also, coming from a much smaller school, I enjoy the large campus and often take long walks to think through projects and ideas.
Q: How do you make classes fun and interesting for the students?
A: I try to use a little bit of humor and tell stories of situations I’ve experienced in my professional life, especially in industrial settings which can help illustrate the course material’s applicability. I also try to "get into the students’ shoes," and recall my own years as a student. I often ask them questions about what works and what doesn’t work in the course, and try to make the necessary adjustments. Finally, I do my best to get to know them personally by learning their names, working with them on a first-name basis, and learning about their individual interests.
Q: If you had to choose one word to describe yourself what would it be and why?
A: I find it difficult to describe myself, but others around me often describe me as a happy person.
Q: What advice would you like to share with prospective students?
A: I would have to say:
- Spend time carefully and periodically discerning your priorities and goals in life, and stick to them – spiritual life, family, profession, community, etc.
- Be kind to others and make a genuine effort to serve them – make sure the profession remains at the service of mankind and not the other way around.
- Focus – do few things, but do them well.
- Practice excellence in your studies, never neglect the fundamentals, and study for life, not for the exam or the job.
Q: What current projects are you working on?
A: The core technology in our research group is atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our projects involve both computational and experimental work. A good portion of our efforts are currently spent in the development of rapid, 3-dimensional probe-sample force mapping methods based on multi-frequency control. Two important applications of this technology are atomic orbital characterization in ultra-high vacuum and biomolecular characterization in liquid. We collaborate on different aspects of these developments with Drs. Hendrik Hölscher (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and Gheorghe Stan (NIST), and Profs. Andrew Dick (Rice U.) and Balakumar Balachandran (UMD ME). Additionally, we collaborate with other groups on related projects, including the development of gas-vesicle-based therapeutical nanoparticles (Profs. Shiladitya DasSarma, UMBI, and Helim Aranda-Espinoza, UMD BIOE), modeling of red blood cell mechanics in turbulent flows (Profs. Elias Balaras, UMD BIOE, Joseph JaJa, ECE, and Dr. Anshu Dubey, U. of Chicago), and mechanical and reactive modeling of molecular and metallic crystals and surfaces (Profs. Abhijit Dasgupta, UMD ME, Adri van Duin, Penn State U., and Dr. Peter Chung, ARL).
Q: Why did you choose mechanical engineering over other types of engineering?
A: I am actually a chemical engineer by training. However at the atomic scale, there is little difference between the various branches of engineering because one is concerned with the fundamental properties of matter, which are the same regardless of what field one is working in. Nonetheless, most of the research our group does fits well within traditional mechanical engineering, since we are dealing with concepts like equations of motion, force and energy expressions, elastic properties, etc.
Q: What societies and organizations are you involved with, both on and off campus?
A: I am a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Chemical Society (ASC). On campus I have been involved with the Inventis Academy of Leadership since I arrived at UMD. Outside of work, my wife and I serve on marriage preparation and Natural Family Planning ministries at Sacred Heart Church in Bowie, MD, and at the UMD Catholic Student Center.
Q: What emerging technology do you see as being most significant to your research?
A: On the computational side, petascale computing is expected to make a significant impact on AFM by allowing the utilization of more complex probe and sample modeling schemes, such as large-scale fully atomistic Newtonian or quantum-mechanical models, while keeping the computation time within reasonable limits. This will be instrumental in helping us understand a variety of imaging artifacts that are common in AFM but are not obvious to the day-to-day user. On the experimental side, the implementation of high-bandwidth multi-frequency control algorithms will contribute to the development of multi-channel AFM characterization protocols, whereby users can rapidly acquire not only the sample topography (as in most AFM applications), but at the same time develop maps of more than one mechanical property with molecular resolution. This advancement in metrology is critical for the progress of nanoscale science, where even the simplest measurements, such as determining the largest dimension of a structure, can be quite complex to perform accurately.
Q: After attending many research conferences, which has been your favorite location and why?
A: I would pick San Diego, CA. In 2001, I attended a Nanobiotechnology conference, where they had boat rentals at the conference hotel. One of the evenings I rented a boat which broke down just a couple of minutes before the rental time was up, so they let me enjoy a second complimentary rental. At the end of the conference we rented surfboards with two other colleagues. This was also the conference where I met my doctoral advisor, Prof. William Goddard, for the first time.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I spend time with my family. We enjoy outdoor activities, especially camping and hiking, and also travel a bit. I practice sports, especially jogging (usually early in the morning before coming to work) and biking. I hit the batting cages and ski slopes from time to time.
Q: Tell us a light-hearted fun fact about yourself.
A: I know a good number of jokes. When living at home in Guatemala, my brother, my father and I would at times spend hours telling one joke after the next one. I must admit though, that not all of my old jokes translate well into English.
Q: When you go to an amusement park, what is the first ride you go on?
A: As a teenager and young adult, I always went for the roller coasters first. Now that I have a family we go to the children’s rides first, although we definitely make sure to ride the coasters a few times before leaving the park.
Q: If you weren’t an ME professor, what would you be doing instead?
A: Perhaps, I would be working at a national research laboratory on similar research projects as I have here, or I might be involved in charitable youth development activities.
One More - Just For Fun!
Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: I don’t have single favorite movie, but a few of my top choices are "Life is Beautiful," "Remember the Titans" and "The Emperor’s Club."
For more information about Professor Solares and his research, please visit his faculty page.
Many thanks to Professor Solares for taking the "quiz."
--Lauren Frye, '10, ME Student Reporter
** Look for the next "Pop Quiz" participant in December. **
Q: Who was your most influential college professor and why?
A: I graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, about 25 years ago! My graduate school PhD dissertation advisor, Panos Papalambros, was quite influential during the early years of my career. He taught me to be innovative, hard working, fun, friendly and basically an all-around person.
Q: What was your favorite class as an undergraduate?
A: Mathematics, including numerical methods, was my favorite class.
Q: What was the best advice you received as an undergraduate student?
A: The best advice was the encouragement on many occasions that I received from my parents to continue for graduate study, all the way to the PhD degree.
Q: Why did you decide to become a professor?
A: During my undergraduate study I did a lot of tutoring of high school students in math and physics. As a result, I gradually realized that I had some good talents in communicating what I know to others and at the same time enjoying the interactions.
Q: Why did you select UMD to pursue your academic career? What do you like most about the university?
A: In 1984 when I began my present job, UMD was on the rise and all indications were that Engineering was on its way to becoming one of the best schools in the nation. Also, I liked the Washington area, in particular, its access to many government agencies and labs and of course good restaurants! Last but not least, I had all my family members living in the area so naturally I was quite attracted to UMD.
Q: How do you make classes fun and interesting for the students?
A: I think I have a good sense of humor -- I try to use it quite often in my classes and with my students.
Q: What advice would you like to share with prospective students?
A: Set your goals high, work as hard as you can towards your goals, and be persistent in finding solutions and delivering quality (best that you can do) in your job whenever you are asked to do something whether you are in school or at work outside the school. If you follow these simple rules, you should be successful.
Q: What current projects are you working on?
A: I currently work on several projects, all in the area of design optimization which is my core expertise. For example, I am working with the Smith School of Business (Prof. PK Kannan, Marketing) in the area of the integration of marketing and engineering design for product design in retail dominated markets. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation. I have another project with Navy’s support in that we’re trying to develop new automated techniques for sensitivity analysis based optimization of multi-subsystem problems (e.g., undersea unmanned vehicles) under uncertainty. Yet I have another project with Navy (Prof. Radermacher, Mechanical Engineering) where we are applying our optimization techniques to the design of the next generation of heat exchangers. I have a third funded project with Navy as well (Prof. Gabriel, Civil Engineering) in that we are developing robust optimization methods for large scale engineering design problems. Our goal in this last project is to obtain design solutions whose performance are optimized and at the same time are insensitive to input uncertainty.
Q: Why did you choose mechanical engineering over other types of engineering?
A: One important attribute of mechanical engineering is that it is a very broad field. It has applications to numerous engineering problems. This is the main reason I chose ME.
Q: What societies and organizations are you involved with, both on and off campus?
A: I am a member of the following organizations:
* American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME Fellow)
* American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA Senior Member)
* International Society of Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM member)
* International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO member)
Q: What emerging technology do you see as being most significant to your research?
A: In my view, multidisciplinary design optimization technology is the most significant. This field essentially involves the design optimization of complex and coupled multi-subsystem problems and is applicable to many of today’s real world problems.
Q: After attending many research conferences, which has been your favorite location and why?
A: In 1987 I was invited and attended at a NATO Advanced Study Institute meeting in Portugal in a city called Troia which is close to Lisbon and by some accounts at the time “one of Portugal's best-kept secrets.” The location, as well as, papers presented in that conference inspired me quite a bit.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I like to go to movies and restaurants with my wife. I also like biking and of course enjoy walking and playing with our dog whose name is Muffin!
Q: Tell us a light-hearted fun fact about yourself; it could be a hobby, or favorite book/movie, etc.
A: I enjoy listening to NPR, in particular, their All Things Considered program. And when I get home after work, one of the first things I do is to listen to the news on Public TV, their News and Commentary program. This sort of relaxes me.
Q: If you weren’t an ME professor, what would you be doing instead?
A: Musician! I have a very good memory of music and can remember notes of a music instrument. However, I cannot play.
One More - Just For Fun!
Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: The Guns of Navarone (1961)
For more information about Professor Azarm and his research, please visit his faculty page.
Many thanks to Professor Azarm for taking the "quiz."
--Lauren Frye, '10, ME Student Reporter
Jeffrey Herrmann, Associate Professor
Q: Who was your most influential college professor and why?
A: My dissertation advisor, Chung-Yee Lee, who gave me the opportunity to do research and taught me how to do it well. Plus, he is a very patient and caring person.
Q: What was your favorite class as an undergraduate?
A: "Operations Research" because I learned how to formulate and solve interesting real-world problems.
Q: What was the best advice you received as an undergraduate student?
A: To always keep learning.
Q: Why did you decide to become a professor?
A: Because I enjoy doing research and learning new things and helping students learn about the interesting things that I’ve studied.
Q: Why did you select UMD to pursue your academic career? What do you like most about the university?
A: In 1993, I was hired as a post-doctoral research associate working with Ioannis Minis in the CIM Lab, and then I took a faculty position in 1995. The beautiful campus and the bright students with whom I get to work.
Q: How do you make classes fun and interesting for the students?
A: In Production Management (ENME 426), we have in-class exercises where we simulate the operation of a production line.
Q: What advice would you like to share with prospective students?
A: First, find an interesting subject and study it (with the guidance of a mentor) until you become an expert. Second, have a group of friends who share your interests and your values.
Q: What current projects are you working on?
A: Developing mathematical models to help public health emergency planners make better decisions and more effective plans to keep us safe in case of swine flu, anthrax, smallpox, and similar threats.
Q: Why did you choose mechanical engineering over other types of engineering?
A: I am very interested in how engineers design systems, and that is an important topic in mechanical engineering.
Q: What societies and organizations are you involved with, both on and off campus?
A: Membership in Professional Societies:
* American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)
* American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
* Institute for Operations Research and the Management
Sciences (INFORMS)
* Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
* Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
I have a joint appointment with the Institute for Systems Research.
I am a faculty member of the Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation (AMSC) program.
I am the Associate Director of the QUEST Honors Fellows Program. Program.
I serve as the director of the Computer Integrated Manufacturing Laboratory.
Outside work, I’m involved in ministries at the Church of the Holy Apostles, a parish in Gambrills, Maryland.
Q: What emerging technology do you see as being most significant to your research?
A: Simulation models that can predict the performance of complex systems in uncertain environments.
Q: After attending many research conferences, which has been your favorite location and why?
A: Atlanta, Georgia, because I had the opportunity to spend some time with family and visit my alma mater. Go Jackets!
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Travel with my wife and daughter, swim, hike, and play chess.
Q: Tell us a light-hearted fun fact about yourself; it could be a hobby, or favorite book/movie, etc.
A: My favorite book is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, but I recently enjoyed listening to the Harry Potter books as I commuted between home and work.
Q: If you weren’t an ME professor, what would you be doing instead?
A: I would be a consultant helping organizations solve problems by designing or improving their systems and processes.
One More - Just For Fun!
Q: What’s your favorite dessert?
A: My favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake, made with fresh strawberries and served on a buttermilk biscuit.
For more information about Professor Herrmann and his research, please visit his faculty page.
Many thanks to Professor Herrmann for taking the "quiz."
--Lauren Frye, '10, ME Student Reporter
