![[Pryputniewicz Picture]](Pryputniewicz.JPG)
Rich Pryputniewicz, Ph.D.
Is the K. G. Merriam Professor of Mechanical Engineering as well as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and, since 1978, founding Director of the Center for Holographic Studies and Laser micro-mechaTronics (CHSLT) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA; he is also founding Director of the NanoEngineering, Science, and Technology (NEST) Program at the Mechanical Engineering Department of WPI -- the Program addresses undergraduate and graduate education and research in the fields of lasers, photonics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and nanotechnology. Prior to joining WPI in 1978, Rich was a member of faculty and Director of the Laser Research Laboratory at the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Connecticut (6 years) and a member of technical staff in the aerospace industry (4 years). He received a M.E.T. Degree from the Technical Institute of Shipbuilding, Gdansk, Poland (1967), his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and CAESEE in Electrical Engineering Degrees from the University of Hartford (1972), and M.S. (1974) and Ph.D. (1976) Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut at Storrs.
His current research and teaching interests concentrate on theoretical and applied aspects of MEMS, smart sensors and structures and, in particular, nanotechnology, lasers, noninvasive metrology with nanometer accuracy on sub-micron scale, and nondestructive testing (NDT) based on photonic methods. In this work, he emphasizes unification of analytical, computational, and experimental solutions (ACES) methodologies -- which he has pioneered, especially when they can be merged to provide results where none would be obtained otherwise, to ease the solution procedure, or to attain improvements in the results. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (PE), Fellow of SPIE, Fellow of SEM, chairman of the Development Committee of the MEMS Division of ASME, Director of MEMS and Nanotechnology Division of SEM, member of the Executive Board of SEM, and chairman of the Education Committee of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council.
He has over 300 publications and has chaired, co-chaired, and organized over 100 conferences, symposia, and workshops on the state-of-the-art and emerging technologies for various sponsors and professional societies. In recognition of his achievements, Rich was appointed as a professor in several countries in Europe and Asia and has received numerous awards including the Teetor National Educational Award from SAE in 1980, the 1991 Award from WPI Board of Trustees for Outstanding Creative Scholarship, the Advisor of the Year Award in 1997, the 2002 ASME International Award for outstanding contributions to the area of the application of engineering mechanics to electronic and photonic packaging, and the 2004 Sigma Xi Senior Faculty Research Award.
From: Resume (2005)