UC-Davis professor honored with Machine Design Award

Steven A. Velinsky, a professor at the University of California, Davis, will be honored this month for his research contributions in the mechanical design field and professional leadership within ASME's Design Engineering Division and Systems and Design Group.

Velinsky, an ASME Fellow, will receive the Society's Machine Design Award at a ceremony during the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences, which will be held in Las Vegas from Sept. 4–7. The award, established in 1958, recognizes eminent achievement or distinguished service in the field of machine design.

Velinsky is a professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering and co-director of the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology Research Center at the University of California, Davis. A professor for more than 20 years, he has developed new and unique courses in the mechanical design area, and has been the advisor to a large number of master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral students.

Through his research, Velinsky has made significant contributions in the areas of robotic systems design and analysis, and design of machine elements and systems. He, together with his colleagues at UC-Davis, has pioneered the application of robotics and automation to highway maintenance and construction. This has included the design and development of numerous robotic vehicles that have been used by the California Department of Transportation on the state's highways. In addition, he has been involved in the analysis and design of numerous machine elements, including wire ropes and cables, air bearings, ball screws, and vehicle power transmission systems and components such as differentials. He also has applied mechanical design methods to biomedical engineering.

Velinsky has served on a number of ASME committees, particularly in the Design Engineering Division, since 1985. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1977. He earned his master's degree in mechanical engineering and his doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1979 and 1981, respectively. A registered professional engineer in California, he has been an ASME member since 1983.

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