This semester (Fall 2000), I teach two courses: an introductory
course in C programming,
ME197, and a course of lectures on intermediate dynamic systems,
ME330.
I obtained my PhD in mechanical engineering from Imperial College, London,
England, upon concluding my research in vibrations and
structural dynamics. My primary focus then was on vibration
and stability of aircraft jet engine components, under a sponsorship
from Rolls-Royce. Subsequently, I did some research work on
vibration of blades in the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME)
as a Resident Consultant at NASA Lewis Research Center.
Over the years, and after my appointment here at IUPUI, I've
held a number of short-term academic positions as a Visiting
Scientist at MIT, and at
Cambridge University Engineering Department, CUED. At MIT, I worked with
Professor S. H. Crandall on vibration, and at Cambridge, I
interacted with Professor V. I. Arnol'd at the Isaac Newton Institute
during my investigations in dynamic systems and catastrophe
theory. Catastrophe theory is sometimes known as
singularity theory. My study of catastrophe theory got a
boost when I visited with Professor Sir Christopher Zeeman, then
Principal of Hertford
College, Oxford University, England.
I am currently writing a research monograph on catastrophe
theory, along with instructional texts at the intermediate level,
one on the theory of elasticity and the other on engineering
dynamic systems.