James L. “Bud” Layne Professorship in Mechanical Engineering

James L. “Bud” Layne Professorship in Mechanical Engineering

Description

Title of endowment – James L. "Bud" Layne Professorship in Mechanical Engineering
Date established – September 25, 1998
Purpose of endowment – This professorship is intended to:
- Provide leadership and support to the ME program and the Department of Engineering in the establishment of project-based learning experiences centered on the concept of "design-build-test."
- Provide a "bridge" to regional industries to identify "real-life" project opportunities for faculty and students that integrate existing and emerging technologies.
- Seek opportunities for external funding, state, federal and private to support continued development of the program and department.
- Participate in the delivery of the instructional program. The professor will be expected to teach a minimum of one course each semester.
- Assist the department in response to accreditation criteria related to incorporation of design concepts in the curriculum.
- Provide support for student competitions and classroom supplies.
College/department where housed – Ogden College of Science and Engineering.
Status – Incurring expenditures
Date occupied – Fall 1999
Occupant information:
- Name – H. Joel Lenoir, P.E.
- Degree held – B.S., M.S., ABD University of Tennessee, in Mechanical Engineering
- Papers authored/co-authored
  - "Academic Accreditation: It’s Significance for Industrial Hygiene Academic Programs", Dennis K. George, Department of Public Health, H. Joel Lenoir, Department of Engineering, Western Kentucky University, #1 Big Red Way, Bowling Green, KY 42101, American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, in review.
  - "Capstone Design Collaborations: Guidelines for Success”, CIEC 2001: Conference on Industry and Educator Collaborations in Engineering and Engineering Technology, January 2001, San Diego, CA. Paper presented at meeting and published in proceedings.
  - "The Roles of the Student in a Project-Based Engineering Curriculum", Co-author: John P. Russell. Presented at International Conference on Practice-Oriented Education: Transforming Higher Education, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, April 24-27, 2001. Also presented in a slightly different form at Implementing Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education, Manchester U.K., January 16-17, 2001. Paper presented in engineering section of conferences and bound into proceedings.
  - "Derivative Projects as a Model for Successful Senior Capstone Design", ASME 1999 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Symposium, METDHC session, November 14-19, 1999, Nashville, TN. Refereed paper, presented at conference.
- Professional organization affiliations and awards – American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Education

Program Information

Entrepreneurial partnerships - Entrepreneurial partnerships have been demonstrated through three industrial senior projects in cooperation with DESA International, Bowling Green KY. Eight students worked on these projects to build test stands for international safety certification for the company’s products. These test machines are not available for purchase nor are the designs published by the accreditation agencies. Rather, the systems must be developed through study and evaluation of the accreditation test standards. As an example of the impact of the work, one test stand was built for European (IEC) electrical accreditation of heating appliances. This stand, with a total design and fabrication cost of $8,700, was capitalized at a value of $25,000 and allowed DESA to receive IEC certification for a new line of heaters.

In addition to the DESA senior projects and similar senior project work with PAMCO (Bowling Green KY), the Layne Professor has worked on seven contracts with five regional companies in an effort to bring actual engineering practice to students. Seventeen students, two professional WKU staff members and the Professor tackled a wide variety of projects on these contracts, each directly contributing to the economic growth of the companies.
Collaborative efforts - The Layne Professor has worked with regional companies such as Trace Die Casting, DESA, SpanTech, and Lilly Industries on projects requiring a higher level of technical expertise. His personal “Scholarship of Application” has enabled these companies to solve problems in the introduction of new product lines, the achievement of ISO and Six-Sigma certification, etc. Experiences such as these are anticipated to continue under the Layne Professorship.
Fee-for-Service Agreements - Harman/Becker MP2 Phase II Project, 1 student, 1 faculty, August-December 2001, $4500.00 Implementation of MP2 software and maintenance management system in the Franklin KY facility; creation of operation and maintenance manuals; inventory of equipment and supplies; creation of spare parts inventory database; and creation of maintenance procedure and work order generation database
Intellectual property - All intellectual property developed under the Professorship has remained with the companies involved to further their economic development.
Measurable student outcomes - No measurable student outcomes are available or planned for this Professorship. Outcomes-based assessment is part of the ABET accreditation of the Mechanical Engineering program, but the Layne Professorship is not singled out for measurable assessment.
Benefits to Kentucky - All the efforts of the Layne Professorship are directly tied to economic development of the state and region whether through projects with industrial partners or the engineering education of young men and women. The ability of companies to enter new markets and introduce new products has been documented, but the main focus of the Professorship is the creation and fostering of a learning environment leading to a better educated professional workforce in Kentucky and the region.