The Ohio State University

Researchers have invented a new material that will make cars even more efficient, by converting heat wasted through engine exhaust into electricity.

In the current issue of the journal Science, they describe a material with twice the efficiency of anything currently on the market.

The same technology could work in power generators and heat pumps, said project leader Joseph Heremans, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology at Ohio State University.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has announced that William Rich, professor emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University, has won the AIAA 2008 Plasmadynamics and Lasers Award. The award will be presented to Dr. Rich at an awards luncheon on June 24 at the 39th AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference in Seattle, Washington. He will also present the plenary award lecture on his work at the conference.

Carol Smidts, professor in nuclear engineering, will serve as the associate editor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Transactions on Reliability. The journal is one of the top two journals in reliability engineering.

Marcelo Dapino, associate professor in mechanical engineering, has also been appointed to serve as the associate editor for the Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and Control.

Brian K. Hajek, senior research engineer and associate chair of the Nuclear Engineering Program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University has been named the recipient of the 2008 Arthur Holly Compton Award by the American Nuclear Society (ANS).

Hajek was selected to receive this prestigious national teaching award because of his inspirational leadership that creates enthusiasm among students about nuclear science and engineering. He promotes diversity throughout his teaching and forges industrial links for faculty and students.

Mohammed Samimy, professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been named the Howard D. Winbigler Designated Professor in Engineering at The Ohio State University.

Samimy, who joined Ohio State in 1985, received his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1984. He was promoted to professor at Ohio State in 1994 and served as associate chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1997 to 2000. He currently is director of the College of Engineering's Gas Dynamics and Turbulence Laboratory.