October 14, 2024 Outstanding Mechanical Engineering faculty earn professorships Written By: Caitlin Scott Departments: Mechanical Engineering Categories: Awards|Faculty Congratulations to the Mechanical Engineering faculty honored with new professorships at our 2024 investiture ceremony this fall. Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering Ian Robertson and John Bollinger Chair of Mechanical Engineering & Bernard A. and Frances M. Weideman Professor Darryl Thelen welcomed the ten Mechanical Engineering faculty honorees, and colleagues, staff, friends, and family to the ceremony and reception in recognition of their scholarly and educational achievements. This year we were joined by alumnus Leon Janssen for the awarding of the Leon and Elizabeth Janssen Professorship to James Pikul. Janssen earned bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and agricultural engineering from UW-Madison in 1964. The professorship Leon and his late wife Betsy established emphasizes collaboration between engineering and nursing, an area of interest given the end of Janssen’s career at GE. He was executive vice president and general manager of GE’s global funding operation, where he directed the delivery of integrated healthcare project development and funding solutions for customers in emerging markets around the world. Read more about each faculty honoree in the Fall 2024 investiture program. James Pikul, Leon and Elizabeth Janssen Associate Professor Joseph Andrews, Alfred Fritz Assistant Professor Weiyu Li, Alfred Fritz Assistant Professor Mike Wagner, Charles Ringrose Assistant Professor Lianyi Chen, Kuo K. & Cindy F. Wang Associate Professor Corinne Henak, Elmer R. and Janet A. Kaiser Associate Professor Alejandro Roldán-Alzate, Mead Witter Associate Professor Ramathasan Thevamaran, Bernard A. & Frances M. Weidemann Associate Professor Jacob Notbohm, Harvey D. Spangler Associate Professor Curt Bronkhorst, Harvey D. Spangler Professor Additional congratulations to the five ME faculty who were recently promoted. In the last year, Corinne Henak, Jennifer Franck and Ramathasan Thevamaran were granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. In addition, both Mark Anderson and Mike Zinn were promoted to Full Professor. Prof. Thelen also recognized the eight faculty hired in recent years. Lei Zhou, Wei Wang, Graham Wabiszewski, Yunus Alapan, Xiao Kuang, and Weiyu Li. Two additional faculty, Prateek Jaiswal and Thomas Breunung, will be joining our faculty later this academic year. Congratulations to all and thank you for everything you contribute to the ME community! Back row: Dean Ian Robertson, Corinne Henak, James PIkul, Ramathasan Thevamaran, Mike Wagner, Jacob Notbohm, Alejandro Roldan-Alzate, Darryl ThelenFront row: Curt Bronkhorst, Joey Andrews, Weiyu Li, and Lianyi Chen Elmer R. and Janet A. Kaiser Associate Professor Corinne Henak Consolidated Papers Foundation Professor Tom Turng proudly wears his medallion. Alfred Fritz Assistant Professor Joey Andrews Alfred Fritz Assistant Professor Weiyu Li Charles Ringrose Assistant Professor Mike Wagner Bernard A. & Frances M. Weidemann Associate Professor Ramathasan Thevamaran Harvey D. Spangler Professor Curt Bronkhorst receives his full professor medallion. Kuo K. & Cindy F. Wang Associate Professor Lianyi Chen Harvey D. Spangler Associate Professor Jacob Notbohm Mead Witter Associate Professor Alejandro Roldán-Alzate and Department of Radiology Chair Scott Reeder, MD, PhD Featured image: Dean Ian Robertson, Leon and Elizabeth Janssen Associate Professor James Pikul, Leon Janssen, and Chair Darryl Thelen