Executive Summary
I
received my B.S. (aerospace) and M.S. (applied mechanics) degrees from the
Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1971 and 1973, respectively. I
graduated with a Ph.D. in solid mechanics from the Illinois Institute of
Technology (IIT) in 1975.
I began teaching as a
part-time lecturer in 1975 working at both IIT and the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). After graduating with honors from IIT, I
assumed a full time position at UWM where I served as assistant, and later an
associate, professor. In 1985, I moved to the University of Alabama in
Huntsville (UAH) where I was appointed as full
professor. I officially retired from there in 2013 but I still am active
as a faculty member as a result of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees
passing a resolution
giving me emeritus status. I also keep active as a private consultant.
In addition to working as a professor in the Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering Department at UAH, I held an adjunct faculty appointment
in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at UAH and adjunct faculty
appointments in Materials Science at the the other two University of Alabama
campuses located in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
I specialize in experimental stress
analysis and applied optics with a concentration in optical metrology including
remote sensing through fiber optic systems, holographic interferometry, high
frequency moiré, speckle metrology, digital image processing of optically
generated fringe patterns, and numerical correlation of speckle data. During the past forty years I helped introduce new concepts in
holographic/fiber optic recording, real-time moiré interferometry, ultra-low
frequency holography, shadow speckle metrology, radial metrology, photoelastic
fiber-optic sensing, diffractive optic interferometry, and strategically tuned
absolutely resilient structures.
I received the Fellowship Award from the
American Society for Nondestructive Testing for the development of a thermal
acousto photonic system for nondestructive evaluation and hold a patent in this
area with AT&T Bell Laboratories. I was also awarded patents for an
integrated rainbow hologram, and strengthening
wood frame construction against wind damage. During my career, I received awards from NASA and the AIAA for
pioneering work in the areas of radial metrology, fluid flow visualization, and
panoramic imaging in space, and was issued a certificate of recognition
for evolution of high compliance ratio cementitious composites by ASM.
As documented on my resume, I supervised 17 Ph.D. dissertations and 22
M.S.E.
theses to completion in 5 different programs (MAE, CEE, ECE, OSE, and
Physics).at UAH plus 25 other theses projects (17 M.S. and 8 B.S.) in Wisconsin. My scholarly works currently include 3 book chapters, 3 patents,
7 supplemental course notes and/or laboratory manuals, 70
publications, 132 conference proceedings, and 63 presentations at student
conferences. In my resume, I also provide examples of magazine and web
articles, news media coverage, and technical reports. There are 40 contracts
listed there which represent extramural funding totaling $5M.
I taught courses in engineering
mechanics and applied optics. I received the UAH Alumni Association's
Distinguished Faculty Award (1988), the Foundation's Distinguished Teaching
Award (1998), the College of Engineering’s Outstanding Faculty Member
Award (1999), the UAH
Student Government Outstanding Faculty Award (2003), and the Outstanding Student Group Advisor/Distinguished
Student Leader Award
(2007 and 2008).
My administrative experience included a
two year term (1988 - 1990) as director of Civil
Engineering, a program then offered at UAH under the auspices of the Mechanical
Engineering Department. Under my leadership, the Civil Engineering program
received initial ABET accreditation (1988), and was granted departmental status
by the Board of Trustees (1991). While serving as co-faculty/faculty
advisor to the UAH ASCE Student Chapter during my tenure at UAH, the Chapter won
6 regional and 5 national championships. During this time, the Chapter was
voted the most outstanding student organization on campus, and officially
recognized for its outstanding achievements by Alabama’s governor. I'm proud
to say that I won the only two faculty races officially held as part of the
National Concrete Canoe Competitions; a 200 m sprint race in 1994 and a 200 m
slalom race in 1996.
I have acted as scientific advisor to
the National Science Foundation and served as a technical reviewer for both that
agency and the Department of Defense. For nine years, I worked as a
consultant and resident visitor at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ
and
directed UAH's Consortium for Holography, Applied Mechanics and Photonics
(CHAMP). I have been
a member of the engineering staff in UAH's Center for Applied Optics (CAO) and
was
the president and founder of Optechnology, Inc.
I received the Engineer of The Year
Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (1991) and was designated as
ASCE's Professional of The Year by the Huntsville Area Technical Societies
(1997). I was also awarded the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance
from the
Alabama State Section of ASCE (1998) and a Certificate
of Commendation for outstanding work and dedication as faculty advisor to the
UAH Student Chapter from ASCE President Delon Hampton (2000). I
also worked with a number of technical
societies as a lecturer in the areas of nondestructive testing and remote
sensing.
I was a fellow of the Society for
Experimental Mechanics; and, a member of the British Society for Strain
Measurement, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the
Order of the Engineer. I was also a member of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, the
American Academy of Mechanics, the American Society for Engineering Education, the Huntsville Electro-Optical Section
and Working Group, and Sigma Xi. I was twice designated as an
International Man of the Year by the International Biographical Centre (1992,
2000), and declared Man of the Year by the American Biographical Institute
(1998). My citations include Continental
Who's Who Registry of National Business Leaders,
Empire
Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals in Engineering, Who's Who in Technology Today, Who’s
Who in American Education, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, 2000 Outstanding
Intellectuals of the 20th
and 21st Centuries, 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 20th
and 21st Centuries, and Who's Who in
the World.
Professor Emeritus - Mechanical
Engineering
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama 35899
Cell: (256) 508-2487; E-Mail: john.gilbert@.uah.edu
