University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors Inc history

Timoshenko was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and medals in both the US and Europe, and in 1948 the ASME named a medal after him to honor his contributions.

In 1953, the Michigan Digital Automatic Computer (MIDAC) was designed and built at the Willow Run Research Center.

In 1958, graduates and undergraduates in the Department received a first taste of a technology that would one day revolutionize engineering education and research.

1960: Crombie Service Co. lands large Lloyd Center construction project – their “big break”

Gordon Van Wylen, then ME’s chair, described the reorganized curriculum in the 1961 departmental annual report: “A complete reorganization of the undergraduate laboratories has been effected.

During the 1970's, computing was performed using the Michigan Terminal System (MTS), which provided time-shared access to mainframe computers.

Another important development was the establishment in 1978 of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT) by David Cole.

In 1980, Yoram Koren joined the Department as the Paul Goebel Visiting Professor from the Technion in Israel.

In 1983, the Department completed the move to North Campus that had begun some 30 years earlier.

In 1987, Shien-Ming “Sam” Wu, who played a key role in establishing manufacturing as an academic discipline, joined the Department after 30 years on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin.

Five months later, in November 1990, Sunrunner competed in the World Solar Challenge in Australia and finished third in the world.

Their mobile robot CARMEL took first place in the 1992 artificial intelligence robotics competition.

In the fall of 1995, MEAM launched another M. Eng.

He was among the most honored faculty to serve in the Department and was elected to NAE. He retired in 1999, but the biomechanics lab he established continues under the leadership of his long-time colleague and collaborator James Ashton-Miller.

By 2000, the Department was ranked consistently among the top five departments by United States News & World Report and the National Research Council, and occasionally among the top two or three.

The Ground Robotics Reliability Center (GRRC) was established in 2007 with support from the United States Army TARDEC with a focus on the reliability of unmanned ground vehicles.

Under the leadership of Steve Ceccio, a new Naval Engineering Education Center was launched in 2009 with the goal of developing and educating the next generation of naval systems engineers.

2010: Air Introduction & Regulation, Inc. purchased, expanding footprint to Eugene

Under the leadership of Diann Brei, ME’s associate chair for undergraduate education (2012-17), new initiatives were carried out to realize the vision of redefining mechanical engineering following the outcomes of the national 5xME workshops.

A separate renovation project costing $50 million, with $30 million from the State of Michigan, was launched upon the completion of the G.G. Brown addition in summer 2014.

He retired from the Department in 2015 and became the president of the Central Research and Development Labs at Toyota Motor Company.

The renovation project was completed in summer of 2016.