Eight ME faculty appointed to named professorships

The Department of Mechanical Engineering and College of Engineering are proud to recognize eight faculty members honored with named professorship appointments. Behind every named professorship is a faculty member whose curiosity, leadership and dedication have advanced both engineering and education. We celebrate this year’s honorees, whose achievements continue to elevate our department and create new opportunities for students and research alike.

“These appointments recognize the exceptional contributions our faculty are making across the breadth of mechanical engineering,” said Department Chair Darryl Thelen. “We are fortunate to have such talented faculty advancing research, educating the next generation of engineers and creating new opportunities for impact, and we are grateful to the donors and families whose generosity makes these professorships possible.”

Jennifer Franck, Jay & Cynthia Ihlenfeld Associate Professor

The Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Professorship honors faculty excellence in education innovation. Jay and Cynthia both received their degrees from UW-Madison in Chemical and Biological Engineering and Finance, respectively.

Prof. Franck’s research interests are in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), both in the development of new computational tools and utilizing these tools to investigate the dynamics and physics of unsteady, turbulent flows. Her lab is interested in fundamental fluid mechanics as well as engineering applications in aerodynamic flow control, wind/tidal energy, propulsion and flapping flight.

Kate Fu, Keith & Jane Nosbusch Associate Professor

The Keith & Jane Nosbusch Professorship supports faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching and research, along with a commitment to advancing engineering education through new teaching methods, models, and technologies.

Prof. Fu’s work focuses on studying the engineering design process through cognitive studies and extending those findings to the development of methods and tools to facilitate more effective and inspired design and innovation.

Lei Zhou, Charles Ringrose Assistant Professor 

The Charles Ringrose Assistant Professorship, established by Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) alumnus Charles Ringrose (BS’63), is awarded to exceptionally meritorious faculty at the rank of assistant professor.

Prof. Zhou hold appointments in ME and ECE. Her research interest is centered around Precision Mechatronics, which aims to develop novel and high-performance mechatronic solutions through exploiting the synergy between precision mechanical design, electromagnetics, and control engineering, thereby enabling practical impact in critical application areas.

Joseph Andrews, Mead Witter Associate Professor 

This professorship was created by Consolidated Papers Foundation, Inc., which is now known as the Mead Witter Foundation and is awarded to deserving Mechanical Engineering faculty members.

Prof. Andrews leads the Laboratory for Printed Electronics and Sensors (LPES) and focuses on developing new printed electronic devices for interdisciplinary sensing applications. Novel electronic sensors are needed to usher in the coming age of more personalized medicine, data-driven diagnostics, and the “Internet of Things”. The impact of the work in LPES manifests itself in many areas including biomedical research, harsh environment sensing, “smart” objects, agriculture and wearable devices.

Dan Negrut, Robert and Laura Hensel Professor 

The Robert & Laura Hensel Professorship was established in 2026 by ME alumnus Bob Hensel and his wife Laura. It is intended to help the Department recruit, retain, and recognize outstanding faculty.

Prof. Negrut leads the Simulation-Based Engineering Lab (SBEL) and his research draws on computer graphics, applied math, high performance computing, AI, networks and communication. His team focuses on simulating all aspects that come into play when one seeks to use simulation to design autonomous mobile robots.

Xiaoping Qian, Mead Witter Foundation Professor 

This professorship was created by Consolidated Papers Foundation, Inc., which is now known as the Mead Witter Foundation and is awarded to deserving Mechanical Engineering faculty members.

Prof. Qian conducts research in computer methods for design of parts, materials and manufacturing processes, with technical emphasis on multi-physics topology optimization and shape optimization.

Scott Sanders, Jean and Phil Meyers Professor

Phil and Jean Myers had an incredibly strong connection to the Engine Research Center, but above all else, they wanted to see the Department of Mechanical Engineering succeed. Their primary intent in establishing this professorship was to support a faculty member whose work would increase the national stature and ranking of the Department. 

Prof. Sanders develops optical instrumentation and sensors that help solve critical problems in diverse areas including energy, manufacturing, and human health. His group is best known for using swept-wavelength lasers to measure gas properties at kHz to MHz rates in challenging systems such as aero-propulsion engines

Mike Wagner, Ragland Family Associate Professor

Established by the family of former Department Chair Kenneth W. Ragland, the Ragland Family Professorship supports a faculty member whose research addresses the issues of global warming and climate change.

Prof. Wagner is a co-director of the Solar Energy Lab and his research includes thermal systems modeling, system design and operations optimization, and predictive performance analysis of energy generation and storage technologies.

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