Nevada scientist develops advances in shock and vibration damping systems
 |
| Prof. Faramarz Gordaninejad Click picture for high resolution copy of image. |
Innovations in “smart,” ultra-fast, controllable shock absorbers for vehicles and large structures have won University of Nevada, Reno, Professor Faramarz Gordaninejad the 2003 Rudolf W. Gunnerman Silver State Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, Desert Research Institute President Stephen G. Wells announced. The award, established by Reno area industrialist and inventor Dr. Rudolf Gunnerman, includes a minted medal and $25,000 prize and recognizes scientific and technological achievements that are based on work conducted primarily within the state of Nevada. The Gunnerman Award program is administered by DRI.
Dr. Gordaninejad’s work has led to the development of new quick-reacting, controllable shock absorber that provide fail-safe vibration control for aircraft, HMMWVs, autos, motorcycles and bicycles. The advances are also used for controllable smart slip-differential clutches for sport utility vehicles, shock and vibration absorbers of submarines weapon systems, as well as, high force smart dampers for bridges and buildings to protect them from earthquakes and strong storms.
In addition to his research and teaching at UNR, Gordaninejad is president and CEO of Advanced Materials and Devices, Inc., a Nevada corporation he co-founded and which has received major Department of Defense contracts to improve the safety and performance of nuclear submarine operations and land vehicles carrying heavy payloads.
Gordaninejad received his Ph. D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 1983 and has been on the UNR College of Engineering faculty since 1984. He is a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Director of Composite and Intelligent Materials Laboratory at UNR. Dr. Gordaninejad has more than 150 publications in the areas of smart materials and structures and advanced fiber-reinforced composites. He received three of the four patents he holds in the last year and has nine more patents pending.
Gordaninejad’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation for 14 years, and by the US Army Research Office through for six years. He received a Research Initiation Award from the National Science Foundation in 1989. In addition to, Department of Energy, Nevada Nuclear Waste Program, the following companies have sponsored Dr. Gordaninejad’s research program: Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, Texaco, Holland Group, Visteon, Equilon, APM Automotive, Enidine, Advanced Composite Technologies, Abbaris, and Carsonite International.
Gunnerman, a Nevada industrialist and inventor, established the annual award in 2000 to recognize scientific achievement and technology development in Nevada and to showcase the state as a strong supporter in key areas of innovation. Nominees must demonstrate the highest quality of research, work accomplishment and commitment to the field and be involved with work that will have a direct and favorable impact on the greater population. For further information, visit the award web site: http://ia.dri.edu/Gunnerman/.
Gunnerman is an environmental inventor and scientist who came to the United States from Germany in 1945. His firm, Reno-based Sulphco, Inc. ( www.sulphco.com ), is actively involved in the development of technology to cost-effectively remove sulfur from “sour” crude oil, thereby reducing sulfate emissions produced during combustion.
Gunnerman holds seven U.S. patents and over 70 international patents in the area of energy-related sciences and has devoted a significant portion of his life to studying the effects of pollution and the technological responses to these effects. He serves as a trustee of the DRI Research Foundation.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI's annual $37 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.