Prof. Wereley to be Awarded ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Prize

Dr. Wereley explains testing methods for vibration and shock mitigating seats applied to fast boats developed with Techno-Sciences for the US Navy.

Prof. Norman M. Wereley, Techno-Sciences Professor and Associate Chair in the Dept. of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland, will be honored with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Prize. According to the ASME website, the Aerospace Division presents the Adaptive Structures and Materials Systems Prize to an individual who has “made significant contributions to the sciences and technologies associated with adaptive structures and/or materials systems.” Dr. Wereley is being recognized primarily for his contributions to the theory and application of semi-active magnetorheological (MR) dampers, and their application to occupant protection, vibration isolation, and stability augmentation systems using advanced feedback control strategies. He has also made significant contributions to electrohydraulic actuators, elastomeric damping, composites, pneumatic artificial muscles and their applications to robotics and aerospace actuation systems.

Dr. Wereley has co-authored over 140 journal articles, 10 book chapters, and over 225 conference articles. He is also co-inventor on ten patents and over a dozen patents pending. Many of these patents are being commercialized in collaboration with Techno-Sciences Inc., a local (Beltsville, Maryland) firm, as magnetorheological seat suspensions for the SH-60 Seahawk (flight test pending for US Navy), Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB) for SOCOM (sea trials completed for US Navy), as well as UH-60 Blackhawk crash protection seating, and MRAP ground vehicle mine blast protection seating, which are both in the development stage.

Dr. Wereley will receive the award, and deliver the Adaptive Structures Prize Lecture, at the 20th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, which will be held in conjunction with the 53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference from 23-26 April 2012 in Waikiki, HI.

Published December 16, 2011