2005 Fall - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - West Virginia ...

Pumpkin DropThe 18 th Annual Pumpkin Drop was held at the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at WestVirginia University on October 28, 2005. The sport has a traditional crowd of over 1000 and is enjoyedby both young and old. Gourd Hurlers fling the pumpkins from the top of the Engineering SciencesBuilding at a target eleven floors below. The challenge of the contest is to hit closest to the target centerand have the pumpkins stay intact.This event was sponsored by the WVU Student Chapter of American Society of Mechanical Engineerswith all proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House. A total of 133 pumpkins were dropped.Connellsville Junior High West took the first place with a distance of 1 foot. Suncrest Middle SchoolTAG class took second place with a distance of 2 feet 4 inches. Trinity Christian School took thirdplace with a distance of 3 feet 7 inches.THE ACADEMY OF DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI INDUCTS NEW MEMBERSThe Academy of Distinguished Alumni ofAerospace Engineering was pleased to inductDr. Baxter R. Mullins Jr. and Dr. Marvin DaleMartin in May 2005 at their annual springceremony. Dr. Baxter Mullins joined theGeneral Dynamic Corporation as an AeroSystems Engineering specialist receiving hisBSAE degree at WVU. By 1979, he raised to asenior position with responsibility for threatanalysis and the design and the verification ofweapon system simulations for the Air ForceElectronic Warfare Evaluation Simulator.After completing his MSE degree at SouthMethodist University, Dr. Mullins beganworking on his Ph.D. degree at the University ofTexas, Arlington while teaching a variety ofcourses. Dr. Mullins continued to teach aftercompleting his Ph.D., performing research anddeveloping a reputation for his expertise in avariety of areas including Aerodynamics andAtmospheric Flight Mechanics of Aircraft inadverse weather conditions, including airframeicing, wind shear and turbulence.Dr. Mullins served as director of TCSConsulting from 1986 to 1996. He specialized inflight vehicle design, modeling, simulation andwind tunnel testing and accident reconstruction.He also worked with a variety of defense andaircraft companies. From 1996 to the present, hehas worked for Bell Helicopter Textron; joiningthe company as a staff engineer and rising to theposition of Chief, Research Project andTechnology Programs.Dr. Marvin Dale Martin went to work as aMechanical Engineer for the U.S. Department ofNavy, Bureau of Ships in Washington, D.C.upon the completion of his BSME degree in1952 from WVU. He proceeded to receive asteady series of promotions until he reached therank of GS-15 and the title of Head Engineer forSystems Performance in 1966.Dr. Martin was one of the principal inventors ofmany of the control systems for bothexperimental high-speed hydrofoils and AirCushion Vehicles. His responsibilities includedboth automatic and manual control of shipaltitude, stability, steering, hydrofoilextension/retraction systems, and a variety ofstabilization systems. He was the ProjectEngineer/Manager for the Navy’s first activatedfin stabilizer system-a system still in widespreaduse today. He developed a novel low-altituderadar altimeter and managed the development ofa special cable-laying system and thespecifications a ship to carry out the operations.As one of his final project of his career, DrMartin originated and managedIndustry/Navy/Joined Services AutomaticTesting Project. This project was an extremelycomplex undertaking to assess the impact ofcomplex weapon systems.