The National Science Foundation presented Virginia Polytechnic Institute's Douglas Nelson, Ph.D., P.E., with the Outstanding Long-Term Faculty Advisor Award in June. Nelson, a mechanical engineering professor at Virginia Tech, received the award during the Challenge X 2005 Competition at General Motors' Milford Proving Grounds, near Detroit. Nelson is the founding advisor of Virginia Tech's Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT), which has participated since 1994 in national alternative-fuel, student-designed vehicle competitions sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. automakers. Nelson's award from NSF includes a $15,000 grant to help fund undergraduate participation at Virginia Tech in the Challenge X competition. Under Nelson's guidance, his team won a number of awards while participating in the previous FutureCar and FutureTruck challenges. During those competitions, Nelson and his student teams created the world's first student-designed, fuel cell-powered car and sports utility vehicle. Challenge X, sponsored by the DOE and General Motors, is a three-year competition aimed at encouraging university students to develop designs and technology for the next generation of energy-efficient, low-emissions vehicles. Nelson, who joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1986, is director of the Center for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems, a DOE Graduate Automotive Technology Education center. He has been an ASME member since 1980.

Gregory N. Washington was named Associate Dean for Research at the Ohio State College of Engineering. Washington began his new appointment on July 1. He joined Ohio State in 1995 and is a professor of mechanical engineering. His core research area is dynamic systems with an emphasis on modeling and control of smart material systems and devices. His research also includes the design and control of mechanically actuated antennas, advanced automotive systems incorporating smart materials and hybrid electric vehicles, and the structural position and vibration control with smart materials. He is currently researching ultra-lightweight structurally active antenna and sensory systems using smart materials, and the modeling and control of novel systems and devices. Washington has written more than 100 technical publications in journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings. He was a National Science Foundation CAREER Award winner; served as a NASA Summer Faculty Fellow; received the DuPont Young Investigator Award and the Ameritech Faculty Fellowship; and earned several Ohio State teaching and research awards, including the 2002 University Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has been an ASME member since 1995.

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