DeVries and Spanos to Receive ASME Honorary Membership at 2014 Congress

DeVries and Spanos to Receive ASME Honorary Membership at 2014 Congress DeVries and Spanos to Receive ASME Honorary Membership at 2014 Congress DeVries and Spanos to Receive ASME Honorary Membership at 2014 CongressWarren R. DeVries ASME Fellows Warren R. DeVries, PhD, and Pol D. Spanos, PE, PhD, are among eight leaders of the engineering profession ASME will pay tribute to this year during the Societys 2014 Honors Assembly. Dr. DeVries and Dr. Spanos will both receive Honorary Membership in ASME during the ceremony, which be held Nov. 17 during the ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Montreal, Canada.First awarded in 1880, the founding year of the Society, Honorary Membership recognizes a lifetime of service to engineering or related fields.DeVries, Ph.D., a prof of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and former member of the ASME Board of Governors, is being recognized for distinctive contribu tions to engineering education and research as a professor for dedication to advancing the frontiers of discovery and innovation through public service and for striving to advance the recognition of engineerings contributions to humankind through leadership in professional societies. A leader in engineering education and a renowned pioneer in manufacturing processes and systems research, DeVries served as dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology at UMBC from 2006 to 2014, where he worked with faculty and staff to build on UMBCs reputation for integration of education and research covering the entire spectrum of innovation, from knowledge discovery through technology commercialization.Before joining UMBC in 2006, DeVries served as director of the National Science Foundations (NSF) Division of Design, Manufacture and Industrial neuschpfung. Through its funding, the division enabled discovery, learning and innovation in universities, and managed the NSFs role in th e government-wide Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. DeVries was on assignment to the NSF from Iowa State University, Ames, where was chair of the department of mechanical engineering from 1996 to 2002. Prior to that, DeVries spent two years as a program director at the NSF, and held faculty positions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University of WisconsinMadison. DeVries, who is currently the Societys secretary and treasurer, has served the Society in a number of different positions, including as a member of the ASME Board of Governors from 1999 to 2002, and as senior vice president of the Council for Engineering from 1990 to 1999. He received an Outstanding Service Award from the Manufacturing Engineering Division in 1997, and the Societys Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award in 2005 and Dedicated Service Award in 2006.DeVries received his bachelors degree in letters and engineerin g from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1971. He earned three degrees in mechanical engineering from University of WisconsinMadison a bachelors, with honors, in 1971 a masters in 1973 and a PhD, with minors in statistics, and electrical and computer engineering, in 1975. Pol D. Spanos Spanos, the L.B. Ryon endowed chair in engineering at Rice University, is being recognized with Honorary Membership for his contributions to the dynamic analysis and design of diverse mechanical systems for effective pedagogies that have advanced engineering education and for achievements resulting from a resolute commitment to societal improvement through engineering innovation. One of the worlds leading experts on the dynamics and vibrations of structural and mechanical systems, Spanos joined the faculty at Rice University in 1984, and has held the L.B. Ryon endowed chair in engineering since 1988. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin from 19 77 to 1984. Spanos emphasis in the area of dynamics and vibrations has been on probabilistic, nonlinear and signal-processing aspects, with applications to structural engineering, aerospace engineering, offshore engineering, biomechanics and composite materials. His work has been supported by government entities including NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and by industrial consortia. In addition, Spanos is quite frequently involved in forensic engineering matters serving as master-of-the-court and technical expert for the federal courts.Spanos served as secretary and chair of the Applied Mechanics Divisions executive committee, and as a reviewer and an associate editor for several ASME division journals. He is the recipient of the Societys Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal, the Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, and the Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award. A member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Spanos received his diploma in mechanical engineering and engineering science from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, in 1973. He earned his masters degree in civil engineering (dynamics) and his Ph.D. in applied mechanics, with minors in applied mathematics and business economics, from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, in 1974 and 1976, respectively. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas, and a licensed mechanical engineer and civil engineer in Greece.