Department Welcomes Distinguished Faculty to CECD

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Millard S. Firebaugh as the Minta Martin Professor of Practice, and Dr. James Short as Visiting Professor of Mechanical Engineering, both effective in September. Dr. Firebaugh and Dr. Short will contribute to the development of the energetics graduate program, efforts in the Center for Energetic Concepts Development (CECD), and the Energetics Technology Center (ETC) of Southern Maryland. Their collaboration will establish CECD and ETC as an international Center of Excellence in Energetics.

Dr. Short has served as the CECD Deputy Director since 1998 in addition to his duties with the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Laboratories and Basic Sciences as Director of Defense Laboratory Programs and Acting Director of Basic Research. Short will take leadership of the planning, coordinating, and chairing of symposia and/or international conferences in the general area of energetics for CECD and ETC. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (combustion theory and reactive gas dynamics) from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Firebaugh was President and Chief Operating Officer of SatCon Technology Corporation's from 2005 to 2006. Before his time with SatCon, he worked with the Electric Boat Corporation, a division of General Dynamics Corporation, where he served as Vice President of Innovation and Chief Engineer, and was responsible for the operations of a 2,800 person nuclear submarine design and engineering group. Rear Admiral Firebaugh served for more than 33 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring in 1995 as the Deputy Commander for Engineering and Chief Engineer for Naval Sea Systems Command.

Firebaugh received his B.S. in Physics, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, a Naval Engineer degree and Sc.D. in Ocean Engineering, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Firebaugh holds the American Society of Naval Engineers' Gold Medal, the US Navy Distinguished Service Medal and was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He is the editor of the second edition of "Naval Engineering and American Sea Power". He and his wife Barbara live in Annapolis, Maryland.

Published August 3, 2007