Welcome to the Mechanical Engineering Department
Meet the ME Newcomers
Patrick Lemieux — A specialist in thermo-fluid mechanics, energy, and aviation issues, Dr. Lemieux’s research focuses on fire and explosion investigation techniques, as well as fundamental issues involving heat transfer, thermodynamics, instabilities, and fluid systems. Other areas of research include alternative energy and energy distribution systems. For example, he has done work in wind turbine blade design, studied failures in geothermal power generation plants, and evaluated propane-powered automobiles.
Dr. Lemieux has also worked extensively in the investigation of aviation accidents, including performing analyses of Flight Data Recorders during accident reconstruction. He has conducted studies of engine Fuel Control Unit failures and other mechanical valve failure analyses in general. He has also developed performance modeling codes for gas turbine engines and air cycle machines used in most aerospace applications.
Prior to joining Cal Poly, Dr. Lemieux held engineering positions at Honeywell Engines & Systems and IBM Canada, Ltd, and worked as a research assistant at the California Institute of Technology. He holds a master’s degree in thermal power from the Cranfield Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from Cal Tech.
Tom Mase — For more than 15 years, Dr. Mase has applied his technical background to the scientific study of all aspects of golf. Tom has consulted with many golf companies and organizations on the design of equipment and simulation of golf shots. In recent years, he has been working with Hot Stix Technologies to develop club and ball fitting methodologies.
Dr. Mase’s expertise in design using applied mechanics, impact and vehicle crashworthiness analysis find expression in student projects. In ME 329 lab, for instance, Mase’s students designed and built a device to measure shafts. In ME 428/ME481, he advises a senior design team that is building a golf ball launch monitor, while students in his ME 326 are studying ball trajector analysis and lift and drag fitting from flight data.
Dr. Mase recently published the Second Edition of Continuum Mechanics for Engineers (CRC Press). And look for his advice in the “Ask Dr. Tom” column published in Golf Magazine.
Dr. Mase’s master’s and doctoral degrees are from the University of California, Berkeley. After completing his formal education, Mase worked in industry for General Motors Research Laboratories, Callaway Golf, and Acusnet Golf.
Dr. Brian Self — Dr. Brian Self earned his B.S. and M.S. in Engineering Mechanics at Virginia Tech and received a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Utah. After graduation, he worked in the Human Effectiveness Directorate at Brooks Air Force Base and performed research in spatial disorientation, life support equipment, and sustained acceleration. In 1999, Dr. Self took a teaching position at the US Air Force Academy in the Engineering Mechanics Department. Research activities there included continued work in spatial disorientation, tactile displays, sports biomechanics, prosthetics, and teaching methodologies.
At Cal Poly, Dr. Self has become increasingly interested in service learning. Along with ME colleague Dr. Jim Widmann, Dr. Lynne Slivovsky in computer engineering, and Dr. Kevin Taylor (kinesiology) Dr. Self was recently awarded a $125,000, five-year National Science Foundation grant to develop capstone projects that provide expanded physical activity for persons with disabilities.