Cal State Fullerton Alumnus Steven G. Mihaylo to Receive Honorary Doctorate May 29

Chandrasekhar Putcha, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cal State Fullerton, has been appointed a Distinguished Summer Faculty Fellow as part of the 2005 Office of Naval Research-American Society for Engineering Education Summer Faculty Research Program.

The fellowship — one of three types of summer appointments funded by the Office of Naval Research and administered by ASEE — is available to faculty members “who are preeminent in their field of research. Successful applicants will hold a senior appointment at a leading research university and be internationally recognized for their research achievements.”

Of 437 applications submitted to the research program from throughout the nation, 64 appointments were made, and only eight individuals were named distinguished faculty fellows.
Fellows will spend 10 weeks at a naval facility conducting research and collaborating with professional peers at the facility.

Putcha, an expert in risk assessment, analysis and methodology, will conduct biomechanics risk analysis at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, beginning in Ju “I will be looking at the mechanics of the human body and evaluating what risk factors are involved in the performance of certain duties by Navy servicemen,” said Putcha, comparing it to assessments he previously has performed of structures. “What kind of pressure, for example, that is put on a leg, will cause the bone to break.”

This won’t be his first venture into this research arena. In 2002, the professor studied human locomotive motion during a summer spent at the San Diego Naval facility with funding from a previous ONR-ASEE grant.

A member of the Cal State Fullerton faculty since 1981, Putcha has garnered a number of government grants and contracts, including funding for a 2001 assessment on dam gates and other components for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a 1997 reliability study of navigation structures and a 1995 seismic reliability study of wharves.

Putcha also has served as a consultant for various defense industry companies, including Northrop Grumman Corp., Boeing, Rockwell International and TRW Defense Systems Group. He has been a visiting professor at West Virginia University, Stevens Institute of Technology and the University of Alabama. In addition, Putcha has authored numerous technical reports and articles, and presented papers throughout the world.

In February, Putcha was honored with the 2005 Prestigious Engineering Educator Award from the Orange County Engineering Council.

The Yorba Linda resident earned his doctorate in structural engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Media Contacts:
Chandrasekhar Putcha, professor of civil and environmental engineering, at (714) 278-7017 or cputcha@fullerton.edu

Pamela McLaren of Public Affairs at (714) 278-4852 or pmclaren@fullerton.edu