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School of Engineering to honor retiring faculty members

May 11, 2011 - By Kim Delker

The University of New Mexico School of Engineering will honor three retiring faculty members during a ceremony April 23.

Steve Brueck, former director of the Center for High Technology Materials who holds distinguished professorships in both electrical and computer engineering, and physics and astronomy; Juan Heinrich, professor of mechanical engineering and former chair of the department; and Tim Ward, chair and professor of chemical and nuclear engineering, will be honored.

The ceremony will be from 3:30-5 p.m. at the Centennial Engineering Center, Stamm Commons.

Brueck joined the faculty of the University of New Mexico in 1985, and in 1986 was appointed director of the Center for High Technology Materials. He was a staff member in the quantum Brueckelectronics group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory from 1971 to 1985. He was named a distinguished professor in 2006. He is a fellow of OSA, IEEE, and AAAS. He was the first STC Innovation Fellow in 2010, and in 2013 was an inaugural recipient of the UNM Presidential Award of Distinction, presented by President Robert G. Frank. His research interests are in optical lithography for the definition of nanoscale structures and their use in nanophotonics (including plasmonics and metamaterials), in nanoscale epitaxial growth, and in nanofluidics. He has published over 400 refereed journal articles and has been awarded 49 U.S. patents.

Brueck earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1965, and his master's and doctoral degrees from MIT in 1967 and 1971, respectively, all in electrical engineering.

Juan C. Heinrich joined UNM in 2004 as professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical HeinrichEngineering. Before coming to UNM, he was a professor at the University of Arizona’s Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and a researcher at the University of Wales and Case Western University. He is a fellow of the ASME, member of the ASEE, and is a consultant to several international institutions. He is currently editor, advisor and reviewer for a variety of technical journals. His research interests include finite element analysis, solidification of alloys, and fluid flow and heat transfer.

He earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Universidad Católica de Chile in 1972 and his doctorate in mathematics/numerical analysis from the University of Pittsburgh in 1975.

Ward started at the UNM Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering as research assistant professor in 1989, then obtained a tenure-track assistant professor position in 1992. He has Wardheld the rank of professor since 2006 and department chair since 2008. His research focuses have been on materials synthesis based on aerosols, sprays and vapor methods; dense ceramic and metallic membrane synthesis; transport phenomena associated with aerosols and sprays; and modeling of membrane performance and membrane reactor systems.

He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Montana State University in 1978 and 1984, respectively, and his doctorate at the University of Washington in 1989, all in chemical engineering.

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